Into The Dark
by PrettyLittleBrunette
Summary: Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler and Elena, childhood friends, decide to form a band. Then the Salvatore brothers join it, promising to send them to stardom thus Into the Dark is formed. Bonnie soon falls for sarcastic Damon Salvatore but being with Damon is easier said than done. Obsessions, Mysteries and Tribulations of Fame stand in their way. But will Bamon make it through? AU/AH
1. Prologue

**Into The Dark**

**Prologue**

"Introducing, for the first time ever in Madison Square Garden, _Into __the__ Dark_!"

That voice sent tingles down my spine as I stood in my place waiting for us to make our grand entrance. I smiled a little as I always did when we were introduced. I still couldn't believe we'd actually made it. It'd all started with a little dream back in high school.

"Ready, Bon-Bon?" Damon asked me, his lips brushing against my ear, seductively.

I pushed him away teasingly but smiled, "As ready as always," I responded, in a confident voice. I pushed some hair out of my eyes and took a deep breath.

He backed away from me, stroking my cheek one last time before he walked back over to the area he was supposed to stand in, directly between Tyler, our bass player, and Damon's brother, Stefan, who played a mean set of drums. He picked up his olive green and black electric guitar and shot me his trademark smirk. He always said the green parts of his guitar reminded him of the color of my 'mossy green' eyes.

I gulped, feeling the regular tingle of butterflies in my stomach that I always felt before a concert. No matter how many times we'd performed, I couldn't shake the nervous feeling I always got. I was the lead singer and my performance was counted on. If I messed up…

I closed my eyes and waited with baited breath as the circle I was standing on to carry me up to the stage slowly started to move upwards. I could hear the screaming of the fans. They were yelling our names, cheering us on… It brought me the biggest adrenalin rush ever.

I finally reached the stage and I grabbed the mic and brought it to my mouth. I saw the other members of my band standing around me in a semi circle and I felt the thrill I always felt when I was performing. The lights flashed tastefully around us and our name and logo played on the giant screen behind us. My blood was pounding in my chest, my breathing was faster than usual, but I knew I was where I belonged. It was where I always knew I'd belong.

I spoke into the microphone, "Are you ready to go _into __the__ dark_?" I asked, in a loud, confident voice. I was always the one who made the introductions because I was the lead singer. I was the face of the band.

The crowd cheered and I saw the fans cheering and screaming and holding up signs saying 'I love you, Bonnie' and 'Damon, will you marry me?' and 'Elena, you're gorgeous' and things like that. Some were just holding ones with 'Into the Dark' and then our band logo which was something like mist over a pair of vampire teeth. Elena'd always been obsessed with vampires; it had something to do with her being in love with Edward Cullen in the 9th grade. We thought the vampire teeth looked cool nonetheless.

The music to our most famous track 'Teenage Revolution' started to pound and I braced myself. The guys didn't really like this track, but the crowd did. They whooped and cheered as I started to sing, with sweaty arms on the mic. I looked forward towards the crowd; wow, that was a huge audience.

_"We're__ a__ new__ generation,__we're __keeping__ it__ real,__we're__ tired__ of__ being__ scared__ of__ what__ to__ say__ or__ feel,"_I sang the first line, pounding my hands on my bare knee. I was in a spaghetti-strapped bubble dress in a light violet color with a bow on it, which was my trademark shape, and my hair was flowing behind me: all light brown waves cascading down my back. Vicki, our make-up and clothes advisor had made my eyes all wide with black eyeliner and I had a clear gloss on my lips.

I heard the crowd cheer and went on: "_We're__ sick__ of__ the__ plastic ,__we're __sick__ of__ the __pink ,__we're __sick__ of__ people__ telling__ us__ how __we__ oughtta__ think,"_Caroline and Elena, who were standing a little behind me, strumming their guitars and pounding on their keyboards and backing up my vocals echoed my words.

_"Don__'__t __try __to__ stop__ us,__don__'__t__ try__ to__ tear__ us __down,__cause __we're__ the__ Teenage__ Revolution,__ and__ we're__ coming __to__ your__ town,__ha,"_I continued singing.

I repeated those words and then stepped back so that Damon could have his electric guitar solo. The girls screamed even harder and I felt a little jealousy burn through me, but pushed it away. He'd picked me. I ran a hand through my hair and kept swaying back and forth.

I looked at my band members. Caroline Forbes was the peppy, happy go lucky one dressed now in a pair of bright pink short shorts and a silver flowing top. Her long blonde hair was tied in a braid and her lips had bright pink lipstick on them. She played keyboard and sang backing vocals. She was like a Barbie rock star sort of thing.

Elena Gilbert was another story. She radiated elegance and kindness in the same time as she dressed in her black skinny jeans with a pale pink shirt and on top of it a black leather vest. Her long brown straight hair was tied in a side ponytail and she was smiling at the crowd. I hated it, but she was the gorgeous one the fans admired. She'd always been the most popular of us for some reason. She'd always been the leader. I thought she would have been lead singer but she gave it up because she said I was a better singer. She instead played lead guitar.

I looked back at Tyler Lockwood who was playing on the bass. He was the rapper and a lot of fans admired him for that. He was dressed simply in a pair of dark jeans and a shirt with a slogan on it saying 'Game Over'. I didn't get the relevance but he worked it. Tyler and I had had a thing before, but now it was over. Now, I was kind of with Damon. Tyler was still awfully close to us. He'd been Elena, Caroline and my new band member back in High school when we were still 'etc'. We only became 'Into the Dark' when Damon and Stefan, the talented Salvatore brothers, joined.

Stefan Salvatore was the guy on the drums. He was the moody, secretive yet mysterious member of the band. He wasn't really though. He was now Elena's boyfriend and we'd come to find he was the most protective and sweet guy on the planet. He was used to helping his brother Damon stay in line. He hit the drums with such rhythm I couldn't stay still in my place.

I stepped forward for the next verse and Damon kissed me on the cheek, catching me by surprise. I blushed a little as some people whooped. _"We're __the__ new__ kids__ on__ the __block,__ we're__ sick __of__ all__ your__ drama__… __if__ you __don__'__t __like__ us,__go __complain __to __your__ momma,"_I blasted out, trying to keep my voice in tune.

It was exhilarating being on stage in front of all these people. I walked forward and brushed my hand across the first row of fans, causing them to scream. "I love you!"

_"We don't wanna be perfect, we're just good at being damaged, you see. Move over, Madonna, we're gonna rock out to the beat," _

I then launched into the chorus with Elena and Caroline backing me up. Fans threw bows at me and I smiled at them and continued singing, I continued living out my dream. And the fans were who propelled us.

'Into the Dark' had taken a whole lot of effort to get to be the band we were today. We'd been through troubles, heartbreaks, betrayals and we'd cried more times than we could remember. I looked around at my band and knew they were more than just that. We were a family and I hoped we always would be.

We weren't perfect and I know that we won't always get along or agree on anything, but we're there for each other. We're 'Into the Dark' and this is our story.

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><p><strong>AN: And scene! I just got this awesome rockstar idea thing that I wanted to do, and I just felt like writing it. It's just a preview btw. Not all the chapters will be this my lyrics suck, I know  
><strong>

**I posted chapter 1 as well so check that out, please!  
><strong>

**I'll only continue if people are actually reading…**

**Most of the story is going to focus on how 'Into the Dark' came to be. It's going to be a rollercoaster of events featuring Klaus, Katherine, Elijah and way more characters… **

**This prologue is in the future, at the end of their story. Get it?**

**Anyway, leave me a review if you want me to continue this!**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. No, that's not me! **


	2. Chapter 1

**Into The Dark**

**Chapter 1**

It all started when we were back in our senior year of high school. We weren't exactly popular but we weren't total losers either. I think it all began one Monday when we had a double free period because some meathead of a teacher was absent, or maybe it was because Caroline had convinced us to ditch our English Literature lesson and we'd been so sick of school, we'd agreed.

Nonetheless, whatever the reason, me, Caroline, Elena and Tyler found ourselves in the small room behind the gym, the one used for storage that nobody ever went to. It was peaceful and nobody bothered us there. One time, there'd been a school trip we didn't want to go to so we'd stayed here the whole day until it was time to go home. Caroline liked to use this room to spy on the hot guys in their gym class.

I was sitting there nervously, because I didn't like to skip class. I was worried I'd get caught. Caroline took one look at my anxious expression and laughed out loud, tossing her head back and making her long blonde hair cascade backwards. "You look so like awkward, Bon," She told Elena and Tyler who were looking at her in confusion at her outburst.

Tyler, who was sitting nearest to me on the floor, smiled in my direction. He slipped his arm around my shoulder. "Why so glum, chum?" He asked, in a fake British accent. I couldn't help but laugh and he tightened his grip on my shoulder then kissed me on the cheek. We were supposed to be sort of dating though he didn't actually call it that because he liked to 'flirt around'. Ty was a dick but he was one of my closest friends.

"I'm just scared. This is senior year," I reminded them, running a hand through my brown hair and biting my lip.

"So what?" Caroline rolled her kohl-rimmed eyes at me and shot me a reassuring look. "Mrs. Burton will never know we skipped; she never takes attendance,"

"I'm not sure. What do you think, Lena?" I asked, turning to my more rational friend who was sitting in the corner on a box, typing into her blackberry with a smile. I knew who she was texting before she even looked up. She had a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Ummm, fine…yes…sure," She mumbled, not even looking up.

I tossed a tennis ball at her and she caught it without even looking in my direction, before she held it up towards me. She let it bounce onto the floor with a thump and Caroline and Tyler chorused in laughter.

"Who are you texting?" Tyler teased Elena, leaning in her direction.

Elena backed away so that we couldn't see the screen and her cheeks warmed from pink to a warm crimson. "No-one… my mom, I mean," She lied blatantly, slipping her phone into her pocket and looking up at us with a poker face. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and she shot us an impish smile.

"You liar," Caroline scolded her, "We all know its Klaus,"

Elena immediately looked down and we knew it was true. Tyler laughed and she blushed harder. "Why are you still dating that asshole?" He wanted to know, his brown eyes amused.

"He's not an asshole. He's just hard to understand," She defended her British boyfriend who she'd been dating for about a week and hadn't stopped going on and on about him. We were sick of this 'Klaus' already. Plus he was the most stuck up kid ever.

"No offense, Lena, but he's the most obnoxious…." I searched for a term, "person I've ever met,"

Elena sighed, "He is a bit…um…" She looked like she was thinking, "snobbish but I love him and he loves me,"

"She loves him and he loves her," Caroline sang, tapping her feet on the floor and singing in a high pitched voice.

I shared a smile with Tyler and we both sang: "She loves him and he loves her," The tune was so catchy that for the next few days we kept on singing it. Suddenly in the middle of class, Caroline would burst out singing "She loves him." And then one of us, either Tyler or me would reply with "And he loves her," in the same squeaky voice. Elena would blush and smack us and the class wanted to know who the heck he was. Klaus went to a private school across Mystic Falls, Virginia called 'The Falls Academy' and him and Elena had met at a clichéd café called the 'Grill'. Elena worked there as a waitress on weekends and she'd met him. They'd apparently fallen in love at first site. I knew he was a jerk though and he'd break her heart. We all did. We were waiting for the time it would happen.

Singing that line was how the band really got started. I think it was one day when we were sitting in the Grill waiting for Elena to finish her shift that I suggested we start a band. Caroline was psyched at the idea, claiming she would have loved to be famous and Tyler agreed that it would be 'dope'. When Elena came out for her break, we told her about it and she agreed too. We'd start a band.

That night, we met at Tyler's mansion and discussed tactics. "So I'll sing lead," Caroline announced, getting up and striking a crazy rockstar pose.

"No, I think Bonnie should sing lead," Tyler put in, "She has the throatiest voice and it's the most unique. No offense, Care,"

"How about we take it to a vote?" Elena, the eternal peace keeper, asked us, looking around.

Caroline looked over at me and then sighed, "Fine. Let's vote then." She said.

I was voted lead singer and we agreed that Tyler would play bass because his uncle Masen already had one and he already knew how to play some basic chords. Elena would play lead guitar and sing back-up vocals and we convinced Caroline to spend her accumulated babysitting money on a drum-set so she could rock out on it. She agreed reluctantly and we decided to call ourselves 'etc' because Caroline came up with it and we thought it was cool.

The only problem was we didn't exactly know what to write songs about. We knew that most rock/ pop songs talked about love but we hadn't really experienced that. Tyler had been my first boyfriend and I didn't know other than the way he treated me as love. I knew he cared about me but I wasn't in love with him. Not the way Elena was with Klaus. Elena was the only one who had experienced love and we'd agreed to write our songs together. We didn't want to be the gushy sort of band. We wanted to start a music revolution. My idol Emily Bee who was my favorite rocker ever, said that music had to make a difference, so we didn't just want to write about crappy love songs. We wanted to make a change.

Instead of spending school nights hanging around Tyler's mansion or at any of our houses watching TV, joking around and maybe fitting in a little homework, we had jam sessions. We practiced, trying out lyrics and practicing how to act like a rock star. We all put streaks in our hair, I got blue, Tyler got green, Elena got purple, and Caroline got pink. They were supposed to be a symbol of our 'rockerness' if that was even a word. That was what Caroline had said when she'd bought the dyes anyway.

Our first song was called ironically enough 'We wanna (save the planet)'. The lyrics talked about a group of friends who wanted to save planet Earth by rocking out and spreading awareness about global warming and pollution and stuff. The lyrics were cute and I was proud that I'd come up with at least half of them. I was good at rhyming because I loved writing poems.

2 months after the sitting the Grill when we'd decided to create a band, we became a semi-proper band. We'd come up with at least 5 songs and we were ready to take the music world by storm. We were ready to start the teenage music revolution just like Emily Bee had wanted to. We were going to make a difference, of that I was sure.

We got Elena to pull us some strings and her boss agreed to let us play at the Grill for our first gig. We spent the week before it putting fliers up everywhere and I was as nervous as heck. I worried I'd mess up and then ruin everything for the band. Elena assured me I was awesome and that everything was going to be peachy keen.

The night of the gig, we hung out in the back room of the Grill, putting our final touches on our outfits and checking our instruments were tuned. Caroline had picked out our outfits: I was dressed in an electric blue pair of jeggings to match the streaks in my hair and I had a white spaghetti strapped top on. Elena was decked out in a jeans dress that had straps like dungarees. She had a purple flower in her hair and Caroline was dressed in jeans shorts with pink fishnet leggings under them and a tiny pink tee that showed her perfectly flat midriff while Tyler was clad in faded jeans and a 'Van Helsing' shirt. The streaks were as colorful in our hair as ever and I knew we all looked epic. I couldn't shake the nervous feeling in my stomach though.

When we were called onto the stage, I felt the butterflies flutter in my stomach harder than ever. I felt like they were trying to burst out. Tyler smiled at me, "You're going to be great," He whispered, pecking me on the cheek.

I sighed, but squeezed his hand. That gave me a little strength and we followed the rest of them on stage. I took my place at the front and as I looked at the faces of the people standing there, I felt a burst of exhilaration. I started to sing and all my previous anxiety faded away. I looked back at my band members every once in a while, smiling back at me. Caroline would often give me a thumbs up and I trusted them to catch me when I fell. I sang on. We managed to sing 'We wanna' then a couple of covers because we thought they would go down well. We sang an amped up version of Demi Lovato's 'Skyscraper' because I thought it was an amazing song plus a few more others. The crowd was cheering and that kept us going.

By the end of the little gig, we were parched. Caroline took me to grab a drink because Elena was too busy talking to Klaus who had watched the concert and was now sitting with her at a booth. Tyler approached us, his phone placed on the side of his face, "I'm sorry guys. I'm going to have to split. Mom says she needs me home," He complained, a tired look on his face.

I gave him a quick hug, "See you later, Ty," I murmured. Caroline waved him away with a grin and he placed a kiss to my forehead, "You were amazing," He murmured, and then he was gone.

While Caroline and I were waiting for our cola floats, she danced off to talk to some popular guys in our grade who'd never bothered talking to us before. She left me standing there in front of the counter waiting for our drinks. A boy with blue eyes and scruffy black hair approached me with a sly smile. He stood staring at me.

I looked back at him, "What?" I asked him, when he didn't say anything.

"What?" He responded, cheekily.

I shot him an aggravated look. "What's your problem?" I demanded, annoyed.

"What's your problem?" He laughed, and I balled my hands into fists, causing him to laugh even more.

"You're my problem now," I called, just as my and Caroline's drinks appeared on the counter. I stepped forward and took them and the boy was still smirking at me. I took a sip of my float and started away from him, shooting him a dirty look as I went.

He blocked my way. "Hey, I'm sorry for being such a jerk. At least let me introduce myself," He said, flashing me a smile.

I shook my head, "I don't care who you are," I told him, snappily, noticing that I hadn't seen him around Mystic Falls before. He looked new to town or maybe he just didn't go to Mystic Falls Public High.

My doubts were confirmed when Klaus, who was sitting with Elena and a group of his friends from the 'Falls Academy' called the guy over. "Yo Damon! Get over here," Klaus said, waving him over.

I took that as an opportunity to split, spotting Caroline by the jukebox in the corner of the room. She was talking to a senior guy with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. I approached them cautiously, not knowing whether to intrude or not. Caroline had her game face on.

She saw me and ushered me over, a giant smile on her face. "Bonnie, come here," She said, taking her drink and slipping her arm around my waist.

"So this is the infamous lead singer," The guy muttered, smiling at me.

I smiled back, "I'm infamous, huh?" I murmured.

Caroline laughed, "Yes, she's the one and only Bonnie Bennett," She took a big gulp of her drink.

I drank from mine too and the guy nodded at us both. "I'm Duke anyways. Your band," He gestured to us both, "is cool. You guys are cool," He informed us.

We both smiled at him and then Caroline shot him a flirty smile, "So do you want to go play some pool?" She asked, gesturing to the pool tables in one side of the Grill.

Duke nodded at her. "Sure, I'll see you around, Bonnie," He told me.

"Later, Duke," I called after them, as they made their way away from me.

I was instantly enveloped into a crowd of high school admirers who loved our band and wanted to talk to me. That week at school, people who had looked their noses down at us, talked to us and praised us. They wanted to hang out with us after school but we told them we couldn't hang because we had band practice. They thought that was even cooler. We became way more popular than we were before and I was happy about that and happier than me was Caroline. She loved attention and the spotlight. It was one of the reasons she was a good rock star.

About a week later, I bumped into Duke at the grocery store when I was picking up some food for lunch. He smiled at me and helped carry my groceries to the car. "Hey, so I was thinking, it's my birthday next week and I'm having a major blow out party at the Falls, do you think your band would like to play?"

"I'm not sure," I told him honestly, "I'll have to ask them but I think that would be great,"

Duke smiled at me genuinely. "It would just be awesome to have live entertainment," He admitted, as I shot him a tiny smile. He gave me his number and told me to text him when I knew. The band agreed to play, naturally. We couldn't believe we were being offered another gig. So off we went, to the next stage of our rock band career.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So that's chapter one! Things are getting a little more exciting now. I just wanted to say I got majorly inspired to write this from an amazing book called 'Guitar Girl' by Sarra Manning. I've used a little of the plot line and I just wanted to say that (:**

**I hope you liked that! REVIEW and tell me if you did (:**

**I'll try to update soon!**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer:****I****don****'****t****own****TVD.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 2**

Famous rock stars always pretend that the start of their career was angst-filled and they had to be mega patient but for us at the beginning, it was a piece of cake. We got together after school, worked on songs, practiced them and we created a decent tracklist for Duke's birthday bash at the falls.

I sat in my room with Tyler the morning of it, working on my Math homework, a tired expression on my face. I swore as I scribbled on yet another answer and Tyler laughed. He was strumming his bass and singing the lyrics to 'We wanna (save the planet)'. It was driving me crazy.

"We wanna give the world a wake-up call. They gotta stop the wrong because we gotta be right," Tyler sang, and I threw my eraser at him.

I groaned, "Shut up! I have to finish this before our practice session. Care and Elena should be here any time now," I told him as I worked on a problem.

Tyler just laughed and continued singing. In the end, I gave up on the homework placing it on my desk to gather dust. The girls came over half an hour later, unfortunately with Klaus, Elena's boyfriend and also Elena's cousin Katherine who was in town for the weekend. We jammed out in front of them even though Klaus just pissed me off. It was clear he was flirting big time with Katherine. I couldn't stop gritting my teeth as I sang but the practice finished eventually and each one of them rushed off to get ready for Duke's bash.

I dressed in a simple little black dress, painting my nails electric blue to match the streaks in my hair and adding a lot of eyeliner so I looked rocker chic. Mom came in to check on me with cookies and juice, a proud smile on her face. "You look very rocker chic, Bonnie," She assured me, ruffling my hair and placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Mo-om," I complained, tidying my hair and then fluffing it up in the right way.

"Bo-onnie," Mom mimicked, giggling.

I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed a cookie. "Mmm, these are good," I told her, a small smile on my face.

"I'm glad you like them, your royal Rockness," Mom laughed as if she'd said the biggest joke ever and I just rolled my eyes at her once more. She left me to the peace of my own mind and I quickly went over the lyrics to the songs so I wouldn't forget them on stage.

Tyler came to pick me up 15 minutes before the party. Caroline and Elena were apparently catching a ride with Klaus and Katherine was joining them. It seemed like the whole population of Mystic Falls' teenagers would be there. I was as nervous as ever but I knew everything would be okay.

The party was giant to say the least with the infamous waterfalls which Mystic Falls had been named after in the background. Refreshment tables were set up in a semi-circle and a giant place had been cleared to act as a dancefloor in front of the stage where we would be performing. Duke came over to greet us and watched as we set up our instruments and got ready to go on.

The party was buzzing already with teens dancing, eating and laughing and music from the DJ table pounded on high volume until we started. I wondered if we'd be invited if we weren't 'etc' and then decided we wouldn't because Duke was a popular and the only way we could get in here if we were a friend of his, which of course we hadn't been before we'd rocked out at the Grill.

"Okay," Duke said, getting on the stage and speaking into the mic I would be singing into. "Introducing for the second time on stage, ETC!" He announced, and we made our way onto our places. Tyler squeezed my shoulder comfortingly and I smiled back at him.

Duke slipped his arm around my shoulder, "Are you ready to rock, Mystic Falls?" He asked, looking out at the crowd standing in front of the stage and grinning at them. They screamed out at him and cheered him on, cheered us on. I saw faces I recognized: Katherine, Klaus, even Klaus's weird brother Elijah had turned up. I saw the guy with the blue eyes and the black hair from the Grill staring up at me. He shot me a thumbs up and I ignored him angrily. I pushed him out of my mind and took a deep breath before I took the mic from Duke.

He made his way off the stage and stood by some of his jock friends and we started to sing. We started off with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Duke's sake to which he was very pleased. Tyler even did a little rap part because he'd always liked rapping. It came across very well, I thought. The crowd seemed to like it too. We went on with 'We wanna (save the planet)' which resulted in whoops and cheers not surprisingly enough. I was a little surprised it was a crowd favorite because of its serious lyrics. We went on with 'Doctor, Doctor', a song about a cancer patient who wanted more than anything to be cured and go on with their life. It was a shouty song with a good beat and the crowd danced along with it. We did a couple of covers like 'Rocketeer' by Far East Movement because it wasn't that superficial. Tyler did all the rapping and I sang with Elena and Caroline backing me up. We ended with our version of 'Skyscraper', which was also a crowd favorite.

After we got off stage, I was still on an adrenalin buzz. I was just going insane and didn't know where to put all my energy. I whirled Tyler around, feeling like I was on a high. I loved performing, I decided, as I gulped down the root beer Duke had offered us after we'd finished. It gave me a sugar buzz.

Elena came over to me, and we were surrounded by a blur of faces, talking to us and listening to us, interested in what we had to say. I guessed that this was what it felt like to be popular like Duke and his friends. It was thrilling. We had to excuse ourselves because I got a wanted to grab another drink.

"Being in a band is freaking awesome," Elena told me, as she placed a sausage roll in her mouth. She chewed it and grinned up at me.

"I know," I responded, cheerily, as I sipped from my lemonade. "It's totally epic,"

"I'll say," Elena replied just as Klaus made his way over to us, swaggering as if he was Mick Jagger or something. I scoffed a little, but Elena didn't notice.

"Klaus," Elena cooed, placing her arm around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. "How were we?"

"You were spectacular, my dear," He told her, in his British accent. Apparently, he'd come to live with his uncle in America after his parents died in a car crash.

"Why thank you," She giggled, and I backed away bumping into another brunette.

"Katherine," I said, as she smirked back at me.

She slapped me on the back, an approving look on her face. "You can sing, Bennett," She assured me.

I grinned at her, "I've been told that, er, Pierce," I laughed and she did too.

"I'mma go grab a drink and go flirt with Elijah and try to make him blush," She informed me, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Good luck," I called after her as she shot me a thumbs up and disappeared into the crowd.

Because I couldn't find Caroline, and Elena was pre-occupied and Tyler was still talking to his uncle, I decided to hit the dancefloor. I placed my drink cup in the bin and started to dance. I felt arms slip around my waist and hold me in my place, swaying me gently to the beat.

I looked up, expecting to see Tyler's warm brown eyes looking down at me but instead I was met with the force of amazing blue-gray ones. I realized it was that Damon kid. I pushed him away instantly.

Damon laughed at me, "That's a warm welcome." He murmured.

"That's all your getting, blue eyes," I told him.

Damon shrugged and raised an eyebrow before he looked thoughtful. "Your songs are total downers, your voice goes out of tune like every few lines and as for the guy on bass, the 'wannabe rapper', my Grandma could do better than him," He announced.

"Hey!" I cried, insulted. "Shut up," I racked my brain for an awesome comeback but came up blank. This guy was so rude. "Everyone likes us,"

"Yeah, that's because they're just a bunch of drunk high school kids. I mean, if a bunch of monkeys started jumping about on stage, they'd laugh and cheer," He informed me, arrogantly sticking his chin out.

"Then screw you, idiot; you don't know real music at all," Caroline was suddenly beside me, an annoyed look on her face. Scratch that, she was pissed off. Really mad. "If you don't like it, get lost,"

I realized that Elena and Tyler had approached too, wanting to know why Caroline was yelling.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, coming to place his hand protectively around my waist. He glared daggers at Damon who folded his arms across his chest and smirked up at us.

"Well, if you want to get anywhere on the music world, you're going to have to take the constructive criticism. Not everyone's going to like your music," Damon added, as if he was an expert or something. We knew nothing about him though.

"We know that. But you don't have to be rude about it," I shot back, feeling the support of my band. I saw Elena scowling at Damon and Caroline had her hands on her hips, still an angry look on her face. She had clenched her hands together and I had a feeling that if Damon went over the line, she wouldn't hesitate to punch the crap out of him.

"Look, tiny, you need a decent electric guitarist and a drummer who isn't afraid to break a nail," Damon looked over at Caroline whose face was turning red. I glared at him because I couldn't believe he'd called me 'tiny'. I wasn't tiny at all. I was taller than a lot of people in my grade.

"What do you mean by that?" She demanded. I was still seething over the 'tiny' comment.

"No offense, Barbie, but we both know you're not drummer material," He snapped back at her, "Maybe try another instrument,"

"Another instrument my-," Caroline started angrily.

Elena held her hand up, "Wait wait wait. Where are you going with this, Damon?" It was obvious she'd talked to him before. I remembered at the Grill when she was hanging out with Klaus and his friends. Damon had joined them then.

"Me and my brother Stefan can help you sound better," Damon told us.

"We don't need to sound better," Tyler told him, angrily. Caroline looked on the verge of slapping Damon. She stood in an offensive manner, ready to attack.

Damon's eyes locked on mine, and I turned to my friends, "Let's get out of here," I told them, and we started away.

Damon grabbed my arm, looking into my eyes with his blue intense ones. "You need me," He said, and I looked down at his hand on my arm like it was poisonous. Tyler ripped his hand away and I sighed.

"We don't," I assured him.

"Me and my bro can come to your next rehearsal and show you how much better you can sound," Damon suggested, but there was more of an order in his voice. Something about him screamed command.

I looked towards Caroline expecting her to snap at him but instead she shrugged. Elena stepped forward. "Give us your number and maybe we might just call," She told Damon.

"We won't, Elena," Tyler hissed under his breath and Damon smirked up at him as he gave Elena his number. She typed it in and saved it.

Damon stepped forward and touched my cheek, "See you around, tiny," He said, before he disappeared into the crowd of people. I glared after him, hating the sight of him already. I couldn't spend a lot of time with this guy. There was no way I could let him and his brother, who was probably as much of an arrogant jerk as he was, join our band.

"What a jerk," Tyler noted, turning to look at me. He didn't seem to have noticed Damon's last exchange with me.

"He's a jerk alright," I agreed.

Elena shook her head, "He's not that bad. Actually, he was pretty funny when Klaus and I hung out with him at the Grill," She said, her voice taking on a dreamlike quality like it did whenever she spoke of her boyfriend.

"Where's the perfect boyfriend anyway?" Caroline asked, and I scanned the crowd for him. My jaw dropped slightly and I nudged Caroline in the direction of Klaus. He was kissing Katherine by the stage. Caroline's mouth went agape and her eyes turned frantically to me, asking me what to do. Elena was looking in the other direction, trying to spot him.

"He said he was getting something from his car," She was telling us. He was 'getting something' alright. I ground my teeth together, feeling sick for Elena because I knew something like this would happen.

"There he is," Tyler called out, gesturing to him. As a guy, he wasn't as sensitive as us girls. "Why's he kissing Katherine?"

Elena's eyes widened and she froze, staring at them. Then she looked back at us. I bit my lip, not knowing what to do. "Elena, he was always.." I trailed off as I saw the heartbroken look on her face.

I exchanged a look with Tyler who was looking back at me with a blank expression. Caroline was still staring at Katherine and Klaus.

Elena suddenly ran towards them. She yanked Katherine off of Klaus and then slapped her 'boyfriend' straight across the face. He looked shocked.

"We're over," I saw her mouth form the words and I was glad that she was doing the right thing. I believed it was what she should have done from the beginning.

Klaus started to protest but Elena shook her head, saying something we couldn't hear. She then ran away and I could tell she'd started to cry. She ran for the cars and we followed her, knowing we'd have to mend her broken heart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yeah, Klaus's a dick and cheated on her! But at least Damon and Stefan are introduced! The next chapter is going to be action filled (:**

**REVIEW… for me?**

**I'll try to update soon!**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TVD or the plot parts of 'Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning' I used . Peace out! **


	4. Chapter 3

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 3**

After a couple of days of binge ice-cream eating with Elena and convincing her that she was so much better than Klaus and all his drama, she finally got over him. Well, at least she said that. I still saw the longing way she looked at Klaus when he was with Katherine in the street and the loathing way she stared at her cousin, but at least she was trying to be strong. Elena Gilbert was nothing if not strong.

Surprisingly enough, Caroline was the one who called Damon up and told him to come to a rehearsal that was being held in my house. Apparently, she'd tried out a keyboard at a music shop one day when she was shopping and she decided that it was her calling and she wanted someone to play the drums. I was walking with her in the hallway when she announced it.

"What, Caroline? I thought you didn't like Damon," I told her, pulling out a notebook from my locker and slamming it. We walked towards our English class, smiling and talking to some of our 'fans' every so often. They hung on our every word and laughed at all our jokes, even the lame ones. It was weird being in a band like that.

"I don't really but Elena said he can be pretty cool, and besides, I really wanna play keyboard and we need a drum player," She complained, in her pouty voice. We took our place in class in the back of the room and I placed my notebook on my desk and glared at her.

"Why?"

"Come on, Bon. Elena doesn't mind and Tyler will agree if you do. Don't be difficult," Caroline pleaded.

"So you and Elena decided to let Damon and his brother come without asking me?" I demanded, feeling incredibly irked at this revelation.

Caroline looked at me sheepishly, twirling a strand of her blonde hair on her finger. "We knew you'd say no so we needed a united stand," She admitted.

"Caroline!" I complained, "I don't want Damon in my room. He'll probably make fun of stuff in there,"

Caroline rolled her eyes at me and then shot me a bored look. "He's here to try out for our band not make fun of your stuff, Bon," She promised.

"I don't like him though," I grumbled, "He's arrogant and annoying and he thinks he's the best thing since skinny jeans,"

She laughed at my comment, "I like that comment. Maybe you could make a song about it," She giggled and when I glared at her, she just held her hands up in a 'sue me' fashion. Mr. Albert was trying to start class but we were too busy with our conversation to care about him.

"Caroline!" I warned again, turning away from her annoyedly.

Caroline tapped me on the shoulder, her blue eyes pleading. "Come on, Bonnie. Even you have to admit he's sort of cute," She murmured.

"Shut up, Caroline," I snapped, even though I did have to admit: he was a looker.

"That means you agree, tiny," She teased and I flashed her a glare.

"Don't call me that. Jerk Damon calls me that," I warned her, as I grabbed a pencil and scribbled down the 'warm up' that was on the board. Some stupid thing about appositive phrases. I couldn't remember for the life of me what the heck that was.

"It's cute," She countered, "I like it,"

"Caroline,"

"Fine, I'll shut up," She rolled her eyes, "But Damon and his brother are coming over today,"

I didn't even look up from my paper. I was tired of trying to fight Caroline. It was pointless: the peppy blonde always won.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Tell me again why Damon and his brother are coming," Tyler complained, that afternoon in my room. Caroline and Elena were sitting on my bed that was covered with a yellow flower duvet. I looked around my room and the pink and yellow walls and the posters of 'Emily Lee' and of other awesome bands and then at my collection of stuffed toys that I kept in the edge of my room. There was my pink desk and small library of books on the shelf on top of it.

Tyler and I were standing next to Tyler's bass, Elena's guitar and Caroline's keyboard which had all be tuned ready for the practice with Damon and Stefan. Mom had brought us some chocolate cake she'd baked and a big bottle of Doctor Pepper and cups and wished us a great practice. Dad was away at work, as usual.

Caroline sighed from on the bed. "They're going to make our band cool," She insisted, tipping her head to the side so that her blonde hair cascaded downwards.

"Our band already is cool," Tyler responded, protectively, "We don't need two idiots to join,"

"They're not'-" Elena started as I heard the doorbell ring.

I walked to the door and tried to make out what was going on downstairs. I heard my Mom talking and then she was laughing and I heard her tell them that my room was the first on the left after the stairs. I braced myself, sitting down onto the bed beside my two friends. Tyler joined us, an annoyed look on his face. I was glad I was not the only uncomfortable one. I just hoped Caroline and Elena knew what they were doing.

A minute later, we heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Caroline called, happily. She swung her legs back and forth as Damon entered my room, looking around. He looked amused but thankfully, for his own sake, he didn't make a comment. His blue eyes were as mischievous as anything.

"Yo," He said, as he came to stand in front of us. "Stefan, come in," He called, turning to his brother.

Stefan, a guy of Damon's height and weight ratio, stepped forward. He had light brown colored hair and glowing emerald green eyes. He was almost as hot as his brother, I thought to myself, before I scolded myself. Damon was not hot! We discovered that Stefan was as polite and quiet as Damon was arrogant and chatty.

"This is it, Stef," Damon said, once the introductions had been made. He leaned against my desk and smirked up at us. "Your mom is pretty cool, tiny," He directed that comment towards me.

I gritted my teeth at him. "Thanks," I murmured, "And I'm not tiny,"

Damon looked at me like it was the most amusing thing ever. "Yeah, and I'm not handsome and awesome," He responded.

"Damon," Stefan warned and I could tell I liked him already. He was already sitting on the floor next to the drum set, twirling the stick in his hand. I could tell he was already good at it.

"Stefan," Damon replied in the same tone of voice.

Elena laughed a little and I bit my lip to stop a giggle from coming out.

"Okay, ready to jam with us?" Caroline asked both brothers, and she pulled her keyboard onto her knee.

The guys nodded and we started to play. We started with 'Doctor, Doctor' and they joined in easily. I had to admit, we sounded pretty awesome with Damon's electric guitar playing and Stefan's well timed drum beats. They altered some notes but I felt it worked for the better. When we played 'We wanna (save the planet)', their additions made the song catchier and more energetic than ever. There was no doubt about it; with them we were magic.

I was so shocked at how good we sounded that I got mixed up a couple of times. Damon was an amazing electric guitar player but he was a snobbish one too. The longer time we hung out with him, the more I realized that sometimes, he could be a real pain too. He was way bossier than Caroline had ever been. He ordered us around telling us to do certain things. He picked up my new song notebook and started altering the lyrics which pissed me off. He played with my CD collection too which annoyed me even further, tossing CD's he didn't like away. I was beyond mad a few hours later. Tyler looked about ready to blow a gasket too.

There was no way Damon could join the band and I could live. Just his presence annoyed me to bits. Stefan could join. He was an awesome drummer and he was actually pretty nice. I could handle him, but I couldn't handle his arrogant ass brother.

"We'll give you a call, Damon then," I said, after Damon was packing up his guitar and I had an incredible headache. Elena and Caroline were still looking over the altered lyrics while Tyler and Stefan were practicing some of Tyler's rapping with Stefan's beats.

Damon looked up at me and I realized his eyes were a mix of blue and gray and a few other colors too. There was green mixed in there and a silvery sort of color. I got lost in his eyes for a few seconds but I found myself as he spoke:

"Why are you waiting? No offense, but you sounded a million times better," He told us. I knew it was true but he blatantly annoyed me spelling it out like that. Like it was a fact or something.

"We did," I admitted, "But we can't just make this decision like this. We need to think it over,"

"Why?" Damon repeated.

I drew in a breath and blew it out slowly as not to hit him. "Because, dude, we don't actually know you well. Ty, Elena, Care and I have been friends since Middle School and this band is part of our friendship. I don't know if it's the best idea if you guys join. It's sort of a friendship thing," I realized. I was blabbering but Damon just kept looking at me with his amazing eyes, making me nervous. It was like he was studying me.

"I see," He muttered, narrowing his eyes at me for some reason.

"Yes, you should. See, it was fun jamming with you but-,"

Caroline cut me off, "Wait! This is a democracy not a Bonniocracy," She said, in a loud voice. "Elena, Tyler and I get a say too,"

"Fine, well what do-,"

Damon cut me off, "Stefan, are you in?" He asked his brother.

Stefan nodded from where he was sitting and Damon turned back to me with a look of satisfaction on his face. "Look, tiny. I'm in, Stefan's in, Caroline's in and Elena told me while you were in the bathroom that she couldn't wait to perform with us, it looks like you're the only one who's out," He said, smugly. I looked over to Elena who wouldn't meet my eyes and sighed, feeling outnumbered. I realized that Tyler still hadn't said.

"There's still Ty. What do you say?" I asked, looking over to my boyfriend.

Tyler sighed, "I don't know. We did sound better though with them and Stefan's pretty cool," He muttered.

"Come on, Bon. We sounded like a million times better. You know that," Caroline put in, trying to convince me.

I looked at her in shock, wondering how in the time span that Damon had stayed here, he'd managed to turn my friends against me and practically throw me out of my own band. I felt sick to my stomach and I felt an intense hatred towards Damon.

"It's like ABC, tiny. You in or you out?" Damon asked me, folding his arms across his chest and looking at me. He knew he'd won. I could see it in those smug blue eyes.

They all looked over to me waiting for my answer. Tyler and Elena looked over at me with apology in their eyes while Caroline just looked determined. Stefan was looking away and I felt sick again. I thought about throwing a giant diva hissy fit and telling them I didn't need them and that I would embark on an amazing solo career but I felt that was too movie like and besides, Tyler, Elena and Caroline were my best friends. They'd been there for me forever and they needed me to stand by them.

I thought it over. Damon and Stefan looked older than us and they probably had more experience dealing with music. A whole lot actually, I thought, as I remembered Damon killing the electric guitar and Stefan's prowess on the drums. We'd become way more famous with them. I had to admit, I loved being in a band. I loved being admired, though it might be conceited to actually admit it.

"Earth to Bonnie!" Caroline called, interrupting my thoughts. "What do you say?"

I sighed because there was nothing else I could say: "I'm in,"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

If our story became a movie, then the next stage would be sort of the mimed things with music in the background, probably 'Teenage Revolution' which was a song I had written up in my notebook and Damon edited its words. I had to admit his lyrics were a little more powerful.

The song would play in the background of our video and Caroline and I'd be sitting in our English class, trying to absorb whatever the teacher was saying. We'd scribble things down and smile to each-other because things were finally going our way. At least in the area of the band.

It'd then skip to Elena waitressing at the Grill, us all sitting at a table going over song lyrics while she'd pretend to wait on us but we were actually plotting our next move to fame. We knew we were going to make it because we were just that good. Her boss didn't know she was slacking off.

It'd cut to us all re-dying the streaks in our hair. Even Damon and Stefan got some too: Damon got red while Stefan got bright orange. Elena would keep complaining about her hands had purple dye on them until Stefan helped her clean it with some sort of alcohol thing. They'd gotten along so well then.

The next scene would involve Damon and I sitting in the park with his guitar, paper littering the ground around us. We were thinking up song lyrics together because with both of our ideas, the songs turned out way better. At least that was what Elena and Caroline said. We'd always get into a fight and Damon would storm off, leaving me to throw paper balls at his retreating back. Tyler would come and sit with me and I'd complain about Damon and Tyler would just smile and say it was all for the benefit of the band.

Cut to Stefan sleeping in the rehearsal room we'd hired to rock out in because our rooms just weren't big enough and Tyler's mom wouldn't let us practice in their house because we played music that was 'too loud' and 'gave her a splitting headache'. Elena would tap him on the shoulder and continue playing with his hair until he woke up. I smiled at her actions because I knew Stefan was better to her than Klaus would ever be.

The next one would be us arguing over band names because Damon didn't think 'etc' would get very far with that name. I argued with him because I thought it was cool. Tyler was on my side, and surprisingly, so was Stefan. We were tied but when Damon came up with the name 'Into The Dark' Tyler agreed that it was a cooler name than the one we had. I grudgingly watched as I was outvoted and 'etc' became 'Into the Dark'.

The latest clip would feature us all rocking out, practicing whatever song we'd decided to tackle. We'd take the song and just jam out to it for 2 hours. It was what Damon called the 'success method'. All the others agreed because Damon always knows better. I hated that he was taking on the leadership of the band. He was truly starting to annoy the crap out of me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you all liked that! I loved writing it. This was inspired by 'Guitar Girl' by Sarra Manning, awesome book btw (: **

**REVIEW! Leave me some love and I'll put in some Bamon for y'all ;)**

**I'll try to update when I can (:**

**I don't own The Vampire Diaries**

**Lily xx**


	5. Chapter 4

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 4**

One night, a few weeks later, we were in the rehearsal room playing 'Teenage Revolution'. We finished the final chords of the song and stopped playing at exactly the same time, just as proper rock bands do.

I stretched, slumping down onto the ground. Tyler placed his bass on the table and sat down beside me. I leaned my head against his shoulder and looked back towards the rest of the band. Elena was talking with Stefan, having placed her guitar gently on the floor and Caroline was hanging around her keyboard, pressing random notes.

Damon slid down in front of Tyler and I crossing his legs and looking exhausted. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as a way to calm down a little.

"We are ready to play on stage again," Caroline announced, "What do you think Damon?"

I rolled my eyes because it seemed that Damon made all the important decisions. He was a power-crazed freak and he knew it. He'd not so nicely informed me and Elena that if any of us were asked to make any decisions that were going to affect the band, we would change our mind too many times. He claimed we couldn't even choose what to order when we went to the Grill. That was only half a lie.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair and his sapphire blue eyes sparkled brilliantly against the light of the room. I found myself wondering what it would feel like to run my hand through his gorgeous black hair, then scolded myself because I supposedly had a boyfriend; he was my best friend too.

"Yeah, I think we're ready," He announced in a firm voice.

We'd stopped playing gigs after that night at Duke's party at the Falls because Damon claimed we'd embarrass ourselves. We had yet to debut the arrival of 'Into the Dark' into the music world. Nobody had heard us play as a full band before except when Elena's little brother Jeremy would come hang out and listen to us play. He said we were good but Damon said we had to be 'amazing' in order to play gigs again.

Juggling senior AP classes and helping my mom with chores around the house, it was easier just to agree with what Damon said. He gave me a headache when we argued too much.

"But," Damon's voice cut through the peaceful quiet of the room. "We can't play like at crap gigs anymore. We need to make the record executives come to us. We need a manager,"

Excited murmurs travelled through the room and I noted how serious Damon and Stefan were about becoming famous. Sure, Care, Elena, Ty and I had wanted to be a little well known, but Stefan and Damon were talking world wide superstars. There was no arguing with Damon especially. He was stubborn and could be a pain in the ass and besides, I knew inside he had the best interests of the band at heart. I knew somewhere inside me we were going to make it big time thanks to Damon.

He planned that some bigwig manager from New York or LA or wherever else they came from, would come and sign us to some record company and we'd be spared from our boring little lives in Mystic Falls. We might finally see the world. Damon had spelled that out to me one night when I wanted to go home and study for an Algebra test that I had the next day and he accused me of having commitment issues to the band and not being 'serious enough' about it. It was needless to say I failed the test.

"So what's a suitable way to launch 'Into The Dark'?" I asked him, with a raised eyebrow. I remembered something. "We could probably get Elena's manager to get us another gig," I looked over to my friend who shrugged at me, playing with the ends of her hair. I realized that Elena, Stefan and Caroline had come to stand in a semi circle behind Damon.

Damon slumped down onto the ground and groaned at me, "Tiny, tiny, tiny, what are we going to do with you?" He muttered, and I shared a tired look with Tyler who grinned at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I relaxed into him and glared up at Damon.

"What do you mean by that?" My voice had a tone of acid to it and I heard Elena sigh in the background and Caroline mutter "Not again". She was right; Damon and I had fights more than most people changed socks.

"I mean, you need to think bigger. We want to be stars not some small town soft pop losers," Damon shot back at me.

"Damon's right," Caroline put in and Tyler and i exchanged looks like we did every time Caroline agreed with Damon. It pissed me off a lot that they were always taking Damon's side.

"It was an idea, that's all," I defended myself, "Silly me," I added, sarcastically and causing Tyler to chuckle beside me.

I got up, tired of this fight already. "I'm outtie," I told them all, and I grabbed my off the shoulder bag from on the floor and started out of the room.

Damon sprang in front of me, as if the whole being tired thing was an act. He stopped me from reaching the door. "Come on, Tiny. Don't be like that," He cajoled, his blue eyes sparkling innocently. "We're all beat but we had an epic rehearsal. You were great, Bonnie," He assured me.

And then Damon smiled at me. The time that I'd known Damon, I knew he could be an asshole and a jerk and a right out bossy boots but he could also look into your eyes and make you feel like you were the most special person to him, like you really mattered. He was giving me that charming smile now. When he smiled at you and his lips curved into that bad boy sort of thing and his azure eyes twinkled, even I stood there bewitched and I hated the guy.

I could feel my anger melting away slightly and I sighed, turning away from him and looking over to my other friends. Caroline had taken my place beside Tyler and Elena and Stefan sat cross legged in front of them, tired looks on their faces. I dipped my head sheepishly, "Sorry guys, I acted like a major bitch queen," I told them, smiling impishly.

Caroline got up and grinned at me, coming over to wrap her arms around my shoulder and hug me close. "But you're our Bitch Queen, Bon," She promised, as if that made it any better.

I laughed and soon Elena, Tyler and Stefan joined in our hug. Damon stood by, a smug look on his face. I hated how he felt he'd won, because the truth was: he sort of had. When he turned the charm on, he was invincible.

"I have an idea for our breakout gig," Tyler spoke up once we were done hugging. We all sat around the circular table in the corner of the rehearsal room, looking at eachother. I had Damon and Tyler on each of my side and Caroline, Elena and Stefan filled the other empty places. I realized how close Elena and Stefan were becoming and was glad she was over Klaus finally.

"What?" Damon asked him, quirking an eyebrow and pounding his hand down onto the pine table. It made a slight bang. Caroline gripped his hand to stop him from hitting it down again with a tiny smile.

"Well, my Mom is throwing this giant Founders Day party at my house and I know she's inviting all her friends from New York. Besides, my uncle Mason used to live in California and I'm almost sure one of his friends was a manager with good connections. I can get him to come to the party," Tyler suggested and because it was such a good idea, we all cheered enthusiastically. I kissed him on the cheek because it was an awesome idea.

"That sounds great if we can actually pull it off," Damon admitted, looking over at Tyler, "When will this Founders Day party be?"

"This weekend I think it was," Tyler responded.

"Can you like text Mason so he can tell his friend to come?" Elena put in, her brown eyes hopeful.

Tyler nodded. "I'll just tell him when I get home. He's staying over for a few weeks anyway. I'm pretty sure the guy will come," He told us.

"That sounds awesome," Caroline squealed, "Finally things are going to go great,"

"We hope so," Elena said, smiling. "We might finally be able to cut a break,"

"We will," Damon said, surely, "How's this compared to your stupid Grill gig idea?" He turned to me with teasing eyes.

"Shut up, Damon," I glared at him, "You're such an operator. Besides, it was Ty's idea not yours,"

"It was Ty's idea not yours," Damon repeated in a high pitched impression of my voice. "It was Ty's idea not yours,"

I glowered at him and at Elena and Caroline who were giggling. Even Stefan and Tyler looked amused. "You're not funny," I told Damon seriously, before I looked at my watch, "I have to go; I'm babysitting tonight,"

I hopped up from my seat and my friends looked a little disappointed. It was Friday night and they probably wanted to do something fun. I couldn't stand hanging out with Damon anymore. Previously, the four of us (Tyler, me, Caroline and Elena) would hang out at someone's house eating ice-cream and other junk food in front of the TV or we'd play spin the bottle and I felt a little sad that due to this band thing we might not do that again.

"I have a shift at the Grill too," Elena realized, sounding annoyed. She turned to me. "I'll take you home," She offered.

I nodded, "We'll practice for the Founders Day party tomorrow, guys," I told them.

"We're starting practice at 10 sharp, here. No late passes," Damon shouted, as Elena and I were about to exit the room.

"Be there or be square," Caroline called after us.

Elena and I laughed because it was unbelievable how far we were getting. Maybe if Mason's friend saw us and liked our work, we'd be signed to a record company and then we would truly be on our way to stardom. _Thanks to Damon and his bossiness. _An annoying voice called in my mind. I pushed it away, though I knew it was saying the truth.

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! This is a little present from me to you guys in celebration of this happy time of year (:  
><strong>

** It's short, I know, but I wanted to cut it there… The next chapter will feature more of the bands drama and I promise that Bonnie and Tyler will break up soon so that Bamon can eventually exist (:**

**Thanks for reading and REVIEW please telling me if you liked it, loved it or just hated it. Any feedback is appreciated..**

**See you later!**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or the plot parts of 'Guitar Girl' that I added by Sarra Manning. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 5**

It's a little crazy how our world changed so fast after the decision to play at The Founders Day party. We were suddenly thrust onto this amazingly scary yet thrilling rollercoaster ride, experiencing new stuff and doing things we'd never done before. It was like someone had pressed fast forward and had skipped through most of the problems. Life was good, and 'Into The Dark' were getting the best deal.

The Founders Day party was everything Tyler and Damon hoped it would be. Mason's friend came and so did a lot of other business type people from New York and LA and even Nashville. We soared that night on stage. All those practice sessions in our rehearsal room finally paid off.

As I took my place on stage, dressed in a white minidress with red and white stripy leggings, I felt my confidence levels blast high. I took the mic and smiled at the audience who were gathered in Tyler's mothers rose garden. A stage had been set up on the biggest area of free patio. "Are you ready to rock with 'Into the Dark', Mystic Falls?" I called out to the crowd.

Most of them were older than our age, but there were a few teenagers who cheered for us in the background. A hum started as we started to sing and then it got louder as we progressed through our songs. By the last song (Teenage Revolution) everyone was cheering and clapping. People had jumped out of their seats and were giving us a standing ovation. I felt like I was flying on air.

When Tyler and I got off stage together, we found we couldn't walk two steps without being pounced on by people who wanted to talk to us and have 'their people' call 'our people', whoever they were. I wasn't aware we had any people. When we eventually made it to the makeshift bar that was set up in the corner of the garden, we saw that Damon was in conversation with a guy who was incredibly handsome with light brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He looked in his mid to late twenties and was dressed in stylish attire. I knew instantly this was Mason's friend, especially due to the fact that Mason approached us.

"Alright Tyler, that's Alaric, the manager I told you about," He murmured to his nephew who nodded at him eagerly.

"Thanks so much for telling him to come," I thanked Mason who shot me a smile. "No problem, kiddo. You guys ruled out there," He assured us, ruffling both of our hairs and then running off to talk to Carol Lockwood who was freaking out over something wrong in the buffet menu. Mason sure had a lot on his plate with his sister in law.

"I felt good today," I told Tyler, "We did well,"

Tyler nodded just as we approached Damon. The guy who was standing with him whirled to look over at us, a big smile on his face. As he caught sight of me, he took my arm and beamed.

"There she is," He announced, proudly, "the biggest star in the room."

"Actually, I go by the name of Bonnie these days," I responded ,snappily, in a rare burst of creativity. I shouted over the noise of the orchestra which had taken our place on stage and were blasting out a 'Beethoven' number. Damon smirked because it was part of his plan for me to act all bitchy and with a big attitude. He said it'd be good for the band.

"Yo, Tyler," A jock from school called him over and Tyler excused himself, shooting me a 'good luck' smile. Damon and I were going to make it or break it with this guy.

"This is Alaric Saltzman," Damon said, gesturing to the guy standing beside him, "He wants to manage us," He had a smug look on his face, even though it was all thanks to Tyler that Alaric was even here.

And with those 9 words everything changed for us. You never actually realize the moment something big happens. You don't notice that it's going to be the thing to make a difference in your life, to change the whole course of it. You just don't. It's only when you look at them in retro respect that you realized how much they changed your life. Right then, I sipped on a diet coke that Caroline brought over when she and Elena and Stefan joined us and Alaric went on talking to us about how he was going to make us famous.

When you're 17, there's hardly anyone around to make you feel like you're a big deal. There's no one to tell you you're special or compliment you so when someone does, you're going to believe them. Listening to Alaric rattle on and on about how awesome we all were or how talented a lead singer I was and how unique our lyrics and our outfits were, made us admire and trust him because that's a natural reaction to such a thing.

It was like we were taking a drug like crack. It was addictive. I could just tell from the tiny smile on Elena's face and the way Caroline was beaming from ear to ear and the way that Stefan was nodding and the way Damon was tapping his foot, a smug look on his face that they were under the same addiction I was. It wasn't a crime that we liked being told how good we were; we were just human, after all. But Alaric's compliments were like some sort of crack to us; we just couldn't stop listening.

Then Tyler came over and told him that his mother said we had to leave because they were going to crack out the alcohol and we were underage and besides, it was late so we needed to get home. My parents had a midnight curfew rule and though it was annoying, I knew in their crazy way they were just trying to keep me safe.

Alaric tugged on my arm and pulled out a PDA from his pocket and started typing something into it. "What's your number, Bonnie?" He asked, beaming at me.

I told him the number, feeling a little smug that he was choosing to take my number over Damon's. I couldn't help but smirk as Damon gave Alaric his cell phone number, his home number, his school number and even his email address. He would probably have given him the number of our rehearsal room if Alaric hadn't gotten a phone call and had to leave us alone.

"We'll talk soon," He called before he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, smelling of cigarettes and some strange cologne. He left us, walking away then, and Damon grumbled something under his breath about some bigwigs being 'full of it'.

Once he was out of view, Caroline, Elena and I did a victory dance and Tyler swung me round and round, placing a kiss to my lips.

"Get a room," Damon scoffed, but then Stefan and Elena were kissing too and I smiled to myself because I knew it would happen eventually. I was glad that Klaus hadn't shown up to this party. He would have made a right mess out of things if he had.

"You're just jealous," I sang to Damon, as I squeezed Tyler's hand. Elena stood blushing beside Stefan who slipped his arm around her shoulder. He didn't talk much but Elena seemed to like him so I was happy for her.

Damon just rolled his blue eyes at me.

I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket and saw that it was my Dad's number. I swore under my breath because it was 5 minutes to 12. Elena had come with Stefan in his car, Tyler was home already and Caroline's mom was taking her home because the Sherriff was already at the party.

"Shoot, I need a quick ride," I muttered.

"I can drive you home," Tyler suggested, his mouth close to my ear.

I shook my head. "That would be silly. You're already at home," I protested.

"I'll take you home, tiny," Damon put in, a small smile on his face.

I was reluctant, "How fast can you drive?"

"I can get you home in five minutes," He promised, cheekily.

"Fine," I agreed before I said bye to the rest of my friends and scurried off with Damon to his car. Tyler wasn't pleased but there was nothing he could do about it. Damon was true to his word and I was home just as my Dad turned the porch light off.

He glared at me from inside and I knew I was going to be told off but thanks to Damon I wasn't that late.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, as I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me.

"No problem, tiny. See you around," Damon winked and then he was gone with a flash of his headlights.

I turned on my heel and started for the house, bracing myself for the lecture my Dad was going to give me on 'getting home before my curfew' or something equally useless.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Alaric showed up, surprisingly, the next day after school. I found him sitting with Mom in the living room, drinking a latte with her. I placed my bag onto an armchair and turned to him and my mom.

"What's going on? What are you doing here?" I demanded, looking at the young man with windblown light brown hair who looked like he'd be more suited to being in a Gap ad rather than sitting in the living room of a 17 year old rock chick wannabe.

Mom jumped up and gave me a hug when Alaric didn't reply right away. She smiled at me, "Alaric was just telling me about your performance at the Lockwood's last night for the Founder's Day party. Why didn't you tell me and your Dad? We could have come and watched," She complained, looking disappointed.

Alaric grinned at me shooting me a knowing look. He knew that was exactly why I hadn't told them to come. Mom and Dad weren't the most conspicuous parents; somehow, they always seemed to cause a riot wherever they went.

"It was no biggie. If I thought it was going to be as epic as it was, I would have told you," I lied, shoving my bag to the side and sitting down. Mom returned to her seat on the couch next to Alaric and I wondered where Dad was. He was probably out at work as usual.

"It's definitely a 'biggie'," Mom raised her fingers with exclamation points and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Mom looked over to me then to Alaric, shooting him a tiny smile. "She's so modest," She giggled a little then.

"She shouldn't be. Bonnie's quite a special girl. She's going to be the main attraction in her band," He promised, in a pleasant tone of voice. My mom beamed and I scowled.

"Your father's on his way home, Bon," Mom added, "You can finally be like that singer you like so much Emily Wasp, was it? Your little band might be famous…"

"It's Emily Bee. And we're no little band. We're going to change the world with our music," I said, fiercely and passionately.

Mom put a hand on her heart, "I'm sure you will, my dear." She turned to Alaric and smiled, "You know, Ric, she plays her darn music all the darn time. I think I know all the words by now…" So he was 'Ric' now? I thought I was going to throw up or something…

I heard a key turn in the lock and jumped up to open the door. It was Dad dressed in his suit. He was obviously back from his clinic. "Hello, Duckie," He leaned forward and placed a kiss to my cheek. I blushed a little and hoped Alaric hadn't heard.

"Hi Dad," I responded and I trudged back over to the living room and took my seat on the arm chair. Dad followed looking over to Alaric who was sitting on the couch. Dad took one look at him and scowled for some reason.

"Mr Bennett, I assume?" Alaric jumped up from his seat and offered my Dad his hand. Dad stared at it before he took it reluctantly.

"You assume, huh," Dad muttered, placing his briefcase on the coffee table and almost spilling Alaric's latte. "What the heck is going on here?" He looked around at us with a belligerent look on his face.

"Alaric saw Bonnie's band perform at the Lockwood's yesterday," Mom started, "He wants her and the rest of her band to go with him to New York-,"

Dad held his hand up, "Maria, can I have a word in the kitchen with you?" He asked my Mom who scowled a little but stood up, looking like a child who was about to be told off. Dad didn't look very happy about the band thing; then again, he wasn't really into that flashy way of life. He disliked fame and celebrities so I knew it wasn't going to be a piece of cake exactly to get him to agree to Alaric's offer.

They hurried off, shutting the door firmly behind them and a brief silence dawned on the room before Alaric spoke:

"Your mom seems nice,"

I nodded, biting my lip. "She's….not bad," I admitted, uneasily, as he brought his drink to his lips and sipped it. "How did you find out where I lived anyway? I never gave you my address,"

Alaric laughed, "This is a small town, Bon, and besides, I have my sources," He said, mysteriously.

I rolled my eyes and waited for him to go on because it seemed like he had something other to say.

"How would you like to play in New York?"

"I…" I trailed off, just as I heard shouting from the kitchen. I cringed in my seat as I recognized Dad's voice loud and clear.

"You don't know anything about the guy! He's just one of the people working for the man, the corporate figure," I rolled my eyes at that comment, "….and he's trying to impress us small town idiots. Bonnie is in school now and she has university after that and you sh…"

Alaric and I exchanged uncomfortable looks and I got up and opened the kitchen door. "We can hear everything you're saying.." I informed my Dad, quietly.

There was a brief silence and then they both re-entered the room. Dad looked a little embarrassed. He straightened his brown trousers up and looked down at the ground.

Alaric jumped in; trying to salvage what he could out of the situation. It was pretty brave of him; I had to admit after everything Dad had said. "I know this is all a little sudden and I know that of course Bonnie has other commitments. I'm just talking about one little gig in the big apple. We'll pay all the expenses and make sure she's taken care of," He said, in a persuasive tone of voice.

Dad didn't look phased. "Who is we exactly?" He asked, grumpily. He ran a hand through his dark wavy hair.

"Well, I work for a record company. If our record company represented Bonnie and her band then we'd look after them, get them a record deal. We manage a lot of other bands. I'm sure you know…" Then Alaric rattled off the names of some bands I didn't know but I was sure they were famous.

Mom and Dad looked blank too though, "I'm sorry, we don't know any of those," Mom looked sheepish as she spoke.

Alaric smiled then calmly and got up off the couch to stand in front of my parents. "I know this all seems a little whack, but you have to believe me. Bonnie is incredibly talented, more so than her band members. She could have a big future in the music scene." He said.

"We know she's talented," Dad slipped his arm around my shoulder and hugged me close.

"So why don't you take my card, think about it and give me a call in a few days?" Alaric suggested. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card with the words 'Alaric Saltzman, Talent Manager, Purple Hat Records'. Then with a whirlwind of expensive smelling cologne and a toss of his light brown hair, Alaric was gone. And then, I had a hell of a lot of explaining to do to my parents. But I was going to make them agree to his offer. They had to. It was 'Into The Dark's only chance at fame and fortune.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's a wrap for chapter 5! I hope you liked the chapter and please leave me a REVIEW with what you thought : ) **

**I'll try to post the next update soon! xD**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Into The Dark**

**Chapter 6**

**Purple Hat Records**

Press Release

_**Into the Dark**_

Purple Hat Records are happy to announce the release of the debut single from the Virginian native band, Into the Dark, on the 1st of February 2012.

The 'Into the Dark' EP features Teenage Revolution which has already been play listed on Radio X and live favorites We wanna (Change the world) and their funky rendition of Firework.

Discovered whilst at a private party, 'Into the Dark' is made up of Bonnie Bennett (17) lead singer, Damon Salvatore (21) electric guitar, Elena Gilbert (18) lead guitar and backing vocals, Caroline Forbes (18) on keyboard and backing vocals, Tyler Lockwood (19) on Bass and the ever-so-mysterious Stefan Salvatore (19) on drums. In fact, because the youngest member, Bonnie Bennett, is so youthful, her parents had to sign her recording contracts.

"My Dad was the… least supportive of my being in a band. He wanted me to pursue a more traditional, [more] practical future. My parents got annoyed when they found out that I had to be able to answer my cell phone in class to be able to talk to A&R Men but all in all, my 'rents are supporting me in this crazy venture," said Bonnie, before adding that her Dad could no longer ground her because it cut into her rehearsal time!

Formed a year ago in Bonnie's girly bedroom, 'Into the Dark' has played only a short number of live shows but have created a buzz in the pop-rock world since they were signed a contract after a particularly impressive show by the salient manager Alaric Saltzman.

The band will be showing off their new soundtrack with funky, indie style tunes and a couple of good dance numbers with a one-off New York gig before returning to their hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia so Bonnie, Elena, Caroline and Tyler can sit for their SAT's.

There will be a new album release and a national tour later on this year.

For interview requests and promos call: Stevie on 909-2578-9183

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Alaric called Damon the next day after he visited my parents and told him that he'd organized a gig for us in New York so we could play to a slightly bigger crowd and have a more versatile variety of people listen to us. And although my next SAT was a mere couple of weeks away, I begged and whined to my parents until they agreed to let me go to New York. And everything came to become an astonishing reality, very much like all that was said in the press release.

Well, almost everything. I did actually get pulled out of English Literature class once to answer my phone but it wasn't an A&R man, rather Damon pretending to be my 'uncle' so that he could argue with me about why my Dad hadn't returned Alaric's calls yet. The comment I'd said about my parents being 'completely supportive' was nothing farther from the truth. There was an arduous week of family meetings before Dad would even talk to Alaric again. And then he agreed to 'maybe' let me intermit off school for a year if the band took off truly because in between 'talking on all hours to Damon on the phone and hissy fitting' as Dad put it, I'd hardly been revising for the Standardized tests that were imminent.

It was difficult to sit down with him and Mom time and time again after school to explain that the band wasn't just a random after-school activity that might or might not look good on my college applications. I argued and sulked until they agreed to get me a lawyer and an accountant and so many more things that normal teenagers my own age didn't have or wouldn't even dream of asking for. And it was annoying because I was a lead singer in a band with a record deal yet my Dad wouldn't agree to sign my recording contract because he didn't agree with the 'man' or whatever sign of authority he was protesting.

So while I sat in a frigid exam room with my SAT in front of me, trying anxiously to answer a critical reading section and wondering why on earth I was being tested on neurologists, Stefan and Damon were going over beats and rhythms for one of our new songs, Elena was fretting over the fact that her hair wouldn't straighten to the right extent and Caroline was telling our principal exactly what he could do with our twelfth grade syllabus (something involving his big ass) and Alaric was conference-calling about our new album with publicists and agents and managers of venues where our national tour would take place. Apparently Tyler had gotten the SAT score he wanted from a previous attempt and Caroline and Elena had passed and were no longer interested in retaking the test. I'd gotten a 1400 and my Dad had decided it wasn't enough and had forced me into a rehash.

It would have been all really exciting if I didn't have to worry about getting the score my Dad would approve of in order to let me go on the tour and sign my recording contract. Real life was…. Hard and annoying and I just wanted to ignore all the tests and homework and revising and just go on our national tour and forget about everything else, let it all fall into oblivion, but I couldn't because of my parental units. I had to 'uphold the best standards of education' if I wanted to be in the band, my Dad's words not mine.

I wanted to stop going to school where the freshmen and sophomores would whisper as I passed by them in school or where the juniors and my peers the seniors would play it cool or sometimes pretend they didn't know who I was but their eyes would shine with recognition whenever I spoke.

I sometimes felt that our Purple Hat Records funded meals in the Mystic Grill every night (where Elena had handed in her notice a week ago) and the expensive designer 5000 dollar guitar that Alaric wanted to buy for me so I could learn to 'strum a few chords' while I sang, was happening to someone else. Not run of the mill Bonnie Bennett who had always stood in her best friend's shadows and been the 'shy' one.

I'd lie in bed every night with my warm covers pulled up to my chin and then get up every morning and stare into the mirror at my reflection and make sure it was still me. Still me who was the lead singer of the rising band 'Into the Dark' and not some other girl. I'd make sure that I was the face that was printed on our new album in the center of the rest of them, my green eyes sparkling cheekily and glinting against my caramel colored skin, my dark brown wavy hair blowing back (with extensions to make it extra sassy), my arms lazily strung around Damon's shoulder from one side and Tyler pulling on my other arm. Stefan stood to Damon's side, Elena close by him, a sweet smile on her face while Caroline just stared ahead nonchalantly adjacent to Tyler.

And when another record company, Twilight Records, started bidding for our band against Purple Hat Records, I couldn't believe my eyes. I'd stare into the mirror and make sure I was still the teenager with mocha colored skin and emerald colored eyes that was the subject of a bidding war for record companies. Apparently, we had such potential and would become gargantuan stars.

Talk of the record deal had thankfully been toned down quite a bit at school. Our 'five minute wonder' as people called it now got the snobby kids who were ignoring us before the band to go on ignoring us and with Caroline locked away in her room trying to frantically design cutting edge fashions for our stage wear and Elena visiting some relatives in Atlanta, there was only me and Tyler left to wander the halls of Mystic Falls High School.

I watched as a particularly stuck up girl called Aimee Bradley rolled her eyes as Tyler and I joined the lunch line. "Yo, Bradley. Jealousy kills, okay?" Tyler commented, defensively as he handed me a tray.

Aimee didn't even bat an eyelid. She stepped towards us, her crazy curly brown hair flying behind her. "You guys don't know this yet but your little 'fame'," She made quotation marks with her perfectly manicured pink fingernails, "is transient…you're soon going to be tomorrow's washed up has beens,"

"Oh, wow, Aimee. You learned an SAT word. Good girl," I cooed as I picked up a bowl of salad from the counter then gestured for the lunch lady to put some fried chicken onto my plate.

Aimee scoffed at me, "Just shut up, Bennett, okay?" She said, obviously unable to find a suitable comeback.

"Served," Tyler said, punching his fist up in the hair as he picked up some food.

"I'll say," I added, coming to the end of the counter and placing the money for my food at the cashier.

"Losers," Aimee leered, before she tossed her hair over her shoulder and marched away with her low-fat yogurt.

"Once a snob…." Tyler started.

"Always a snob," I finished, and we headed to our table in the back of the lunchroom. It was nice how Tyler and I understood each-other. Even though our romance wasn't exactly fire red and passionate, it was sweet. It was nice to know that someone had your back. It was nice to know that if something went wrong, there was someone there to catch you if you fell. And that's what I needed the most at this crucial part of my life.

"So how do you think you did on the last test?" Tyler asked, as he scooped some French fries into his mouth.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair before taking a bite of chicken, "I don't know. The math sucked big balls and I don't know… I just don't want to let my Dad down and at the same time let the band down, you know," I added, worried.

Tyler smiled at me and looked up at my creased forehead. "You've got this, Bon. You probably did just fine and besides, you're going to be 18 in a few months and then you'll be legal and be able to do whatever you want," He assured me, stroking my cheek with his finger gently.

I succumbed to his assuaging touch. "I can't wait! I mean, you guys have got it so easy being 18 already. I heard that Sherriff Forbes almost had a heart attack when Caroline told her she wasn't going to college at least until after everything with the band was done," I smiled slightly.

"Yeah, that's true. She always wanted Caroline to be valedictorian," Tyler said and we both laughed at that.

"I find it hard to imagine badass, awesome Caroline Forbes as a prosaic, stuck up valedictorian like Aimee Bradley," I responded, as I crunched on some chicken.

"Yeah, Aimee does the role of prick with a stick up her butt too well," Tyler added, making me giggle slightly.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I saw the number was Damon's. I held the screen up and Tyler rolled his eyes. "Even I have to admit that Damon's becoming a little neurotic with this whole band thing," He muttered.

"Yeah, with Damon's dedication, neurotic is an understatement," I said, as I pressed 'answer' and placed the phone to the side of my head.

"Bonnie Bennett speaking," I joked, as I swallowed my last piece of chicken and sat upright.

"Oh hey Tiny. How you doing?" Damon asked, casually.

"I'm okay," I replied, wondering what he wanted now.

"What are you doing?" Damon pressed, a few seconds later.

"Um, I'm at lunch right now," I said, my tone conveying how confused I was. "If you want something, can you just spit it out because I have like 10 minutes before break is over and I have to go back to stupid Calculus," I complained.

Damon, surprisingly, laughed. "I didn't actually want something. Stefan and I were just taking a break and I thought I'd give you a call, see how you were doing and all," He said, his tone surprisingly laid-back. He didn't seem to have anything up his sleeve….

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I just wanted to see if you were okay because you seemed a little preoccupied on the phone last night when we were going over the tracklist," He pressed, sounding actually honest for once.

"Hmmm, well, you know… school and tests and stuff have me all stressed," I said, and Tyler nudged me with a questioning look that said 'what the hell does he want'. I shrugged at Tyler and rolled my eyes at Damon who was on the phone.

"You need to relax, tiny," Damon advised me.

"Yeah, Caroline and Elena tell me that every time I call them freaking out," I informed him, wondering why I was telling him this. It wasn't as if Damon and I were BFFs or whatever.

"Well, it's sound advice. I'll leave you to enjoy your break but if you need something, be sure to give me a ring," Damon offered, kindly.

I scrunched my eyebrows at his response. "Yeah, okay…." I murmured, about to hang up then at the last second, I smirked. "Careful, Damon, I might start to think you actually care,"

I put my phone down with a triumphant look and Tyler looked at me, having finished his lunch, a puzzled look on his face. "What was that about?" He asked.

"I don't have a clue. He was being all….nice. Do you think he wants something?" I asked, suspiciously.

Tyler shrugged at me, "Dunno. Maybe…. "He looked slightly uncomfortable for some reason.

I munched on some salad until the bell rang for class to start. I groaned. "Oh no,"

Tyler smirked at me, "I have PE," He laughed and I punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"How come you get the good schedule?" I complained, nonplussed.

He grinned at me as he took both of our trays and emptied them. "Because I'm awesome," He explained, as if that was a reasonable elucidation.

"I'm positive that's why," I muttered, under my breath and as Tyler slipped his arm around my waist and accompanied me to my locker, I couldn't help but think of a certain pair of lucid blue eyes and a wayward mop of black hair.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Thursday after our CD came out, I was coming back from school and it was raining cats and dogs. As I trudged home with Elena (who had returned from Atlanta and lived a few streets away from me) in her car, every so often pedestrians in the street would grin up at us from under their umbrellas and point. "It's them!" They would call and Elena would grin and I would glow with pride. We'd both wave and the fans would wave back, ecstatic that we'd paid them attention.

As Elena dropped me off in front of my house and left me in the driveway, I stood in the porch to dry off my wet clothes. Thankfully, the rain had eased off and it was only drizzling now. A group of teenage girls looking a little younger than us passed by and one of them froze in space as she looked up at me, "That's her, the lead singer of Into the Dark!" I heard her hiss excitedly to her friends as she nudged them in my direction.

I tried to appear nonchalant. One of her friends, a short blonde, looked over at me with a disdainful look. "No way, she's not nearly pretty enough to be her," She said, scornfully.

"Yes, I hear that she went out with Chord Overstreet from Glee and there's no way he'd date her," The girl's second friend, a tall, lanky, brunette, concurred.

I rolled my eyes at their comments and our eyes met for a second before they looked away. I vaguely recognized them as freshmen from 'The Falls Academy' where Klaus, Elena's ex-boyfriend and his friends left. Damon and Stefan had attended the Falls before they headed to a community college nearby. I just looked away and ran a hand through my tepid hair, not liking its dank feel under my fingers.

I became aware of the girls marching up to me, determined expressions on their faces and I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. "To what do I owe this honor?" I asked, sarcastically, because their comments were kind of derogatory and mean.

"Are you in that band with the stupid name?" The blonde one, obviously the most confident, demanded.

"Whatever band?" I played dumb, as I looked down at them. I wasn't exactly the tallest kid in my grade but I towered over the petite blonde spunky girl. Her friends stepped forward and the initial girl, a girl with light brown wavy hair looked up at me.

"Into the Dark," She commented, seeming slightly nicer than her peers.

I wondered what the heck they wanted. I was in front of my house and even though I knew my parents weren't home, I was more powerful than them if they even tried anything. And the neighbors knew my family pretty well too.

"Yeah, there's this article about the band in the local newspaper and it says you go to that poor people school," Blondie said, a contemptuous look on her tiny face. I wanted to slap her silly but I restrained myself. She gestured to her friend, the girl with the light brown wavy hair, "her older brother says he dated your friend, Elaine or something though," She added.

"Yes, Klaus," The little light brown haired girl said and I noticed that she did, in fact, have a British accent. She did resemble him with her gray-blue eyes and pale skin, I had to admit.

"It's Elena. He dated Elena until he cheated on her. But what does this have to do with anything?" I asked.

"We just wanted to know…. Are you in this band or not? Are you…Bonnie?" The tall brunette pressed, "Danielle is insisting you are," She thrust her thumb in the direction of Klaus's little sister.

I nodded and both the blonde and the lanky brunette glared at me. I wondered if I could take them in a fight because they looked like this was not a social call. "Yes, I'm Bonnie. What's it to you?" I asked, toughly. I could probably take Danielle and her blonde friend but the tall brunette looked vicious.

"So why are you still going to school then?" Danielle asked, curiously.

"Because I'm still taking the SAT's and besides, I need to take the stuff for my finals-,"

"Yeah, we heard about your control freak Dad," The blonde asked, mockingly. She smirked like it was the most amusing thing on earth.

"He's just looking out for my best interests," I defended him automatically. "What the hell do you girls want anyway? All of this is none of your business. Why don't you go off and read the newspaper and find out all this and leave me the heck alone?" I suggested, snappily because I didn't need to be interrogated by a bunch of 14 or 15 year olds while I was wearing wet clothes that froze me to the bone and made me feel like I was in a horrible mood.

I must have been a little harsh because the blonde girl looked a little sheepish and even the tall brunette bowed her head slightly. "All right," She said, "I just wanted to know…are you dating Chord Overstreet?"

"Nope," I responded, amused.

"What about Bruno Mars?" Blondie put in, excitedly.

I shook my head, "Sorry to rain on your parade, but we're not that famous yet. And besides, I'm kind of in a relationship with Tyler Lockwood," I responded, not sure why I was explaining this.

"Tyler Lockwood! Base player and rapper extraordinaire?" Danielle exclaimed, wonder shining in her eyes. "He's my new crush; I think I fancy him… you're so lucky," She gushed.

I liked this girl automatically and wondered how she could be related to the jerk that was Klaus Smith. "Well, tell you what, how about I give you a photograph of the band and you can get Tyler to sign it if you see him around town?" I asked Danielle as I fished in my bag for a photo and handed it to her. It was a fun shot of us all sitting in our beach-gear smiling at the camera.

Danielle grinned and took it, "I don't know what to say…." She said, and she leaned forward and gave me a hug. The other two girls stepped towards me uneasily.

"Could we have one too? We both think Damon Salvatore is a total hottie," The blonde one admitted, simpering slightly.

I nodded, and handed them each a photo. They smiled at me and took them.

"Well, if you meet Bruno Mars, could you possibly get us an autograph?" Danielle added, excitedly.

I nodded once more, "Sure, I'll do just that…. Next time I bump into him," I grinned and then winked at them before I decided that I'd had enough time out on the porch. "See you guys later,"

"Thank you, Bye bye Bonnie!" Danielle called and her friends echoed their goodbyes as they hurried back onto the sidewalk and scurried home, gripping their pictures of Into the Dark close to them.

I shuffled into the house and closed the door behind me, locking it in case some anti-Into the Dark people came and tried to bash the door in or something. I hurried up to my room and threw my wet clothes on the floor before changing into some gray sweats and a pink 'Madonna' tee-shirt. I was just brushing my hair out when the doorbell rang. I looked at my wall clock, noting that there were still a couple of hours before my parents arrived from work.

I hurried down the steps, hoping it wasn't some people who wanted to insult me or the band; I didn't know how much more I could take with the impending threat of exams in the near future. I peered into the peep hole and saw Damon Salvatore standing there with his hands dug deep into his pockets in some faded jeans and a black 'The Ramones' shirt. He blinked up at me and stuck his tongue out once he felt my motion.

I automatically ran a hand through my hair and straightened up, hoping I didn't look too terrible. _Why did I care what Damon Salvatore thought of me? _I thought flashed through my mind quickly and I just pushed it away and reached for the knob.

"What if it was my mom?" I asked, as I opened the door, "She would have probably thought that you were a nutty druggie or something,"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And scene! I'm sorry I've been absent for so long! Blame school and tests and all of that. **

**I hope you guys liked that… Bamon is just around the corner…. Seriously, next chapter will be Bamon FILLED! (: xx**

**REVIEW please because I wanna know how many of you are reading this crazy story. **

**Lily **

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Or the parts of the plotline I took from 'Sarra Manning'. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 7**

Damon leaned in, "Well, it's a good thing it was you then, tiny," He whispered, making me shiver. "Because you already know I'm insane," He edged past me into the house and I shut the door behind him, rolling my eyes.

"Yes, that fact I learnt the moment I met you," I said, sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Damon retorted sardonically, "Very funny,"

I smirked at Damon, "I know I am. So what are you doing here, Salvatore?" I asked him, hands on my hips.

Damon pretended to look hurt. "What? I can't come visit my best friend?" He asked, feigning wound.

"Last time I checked my best friends had long blonde and brown hair and wore bras, so unless they suddenly got a makeover into an arrogant jerk…. You're not my BFF," I shot back at him, raising my eyebrows.

"Your words scar me, Tiny," Damon replied, with his hand on his heart.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" I looked up at him, straightening up, "I'm not that much shorter than you, Damon," I explained as I decided to go to the kitchen to grab some caffeine.

Damon followed me automatically looking as at home as if he was in the Salvatore house. He leaned against the kitchen counter as I fixed a cappuccino for myself. "Yes, I know that, but if the crown fits…."

"What crown, you dork?" I asked, as I mixed the cappuccino mix and poured hot water onto it.

Damon ignored my last comment and his eyes glinted as he looked over at me. "I'll have a low fat latte with some cinnamon," He ordered, as if he were at a freaking branch of Starbucks.

"Do I look like your servant?" I asked, taking my drink and strolling out of the room.

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Damon asked, as he followed me into the living room. I plopped down onto the couch and he sat down beside me, annoyingly close. I shuffled away, slightly uncomfortable, and Damon looked sad. "I mean it… I want something to drink… I've been throwing together tunes all morning," He complained.

"Oh poor baby… you've been making songs up while I've been forced to understand logarithms and why the heck World War 2 happened…" I said, sarcastically, as I flicked the TV on. An episode of Gossip Girl was on and I settled back into my seat.

"Let me tell you something… If I don't get a drink, then World War 3 is gonna happen here," Damon whined, pouting and making me roll my eyes.

"Get your own damn drink. I'm not a waitress funnily enough," I said, not even peeling my eyes from the screen where Serena and Blair were talking about Dan.

Damon groaned but got up off the couch and trudged off towards the kitchen. I still wondered what he was doing here, but strangely enough, his company was somewhat amusing. I looked back at the screen and two minutes later, Damon jumped onto the couch, rolling his eyes at the screen.

"I never got why this show was so prevalent. That Chuck Bates is such a dick," He commented.

"It's Chuck Bass," I corrected, automatically, as I slurped up the last of my drink. I noted that Damon had used one of my mom's chamomile teas with a smirk.

"What? Herbal teas are calming to the soul," Damon said, prophetically, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"They do something to the soul all right but I'm not sure if calming is the right word to describe it," I said, scratching my ear.

"They mellow the aura," Damon said.

"Okay. Enough talk about herbal tea," I forced myself to look away from Chase Crawford and instead looked questioningly at Damon, "What are you doing here?"

Damon looked at me with wide, earnest eyes. "Seriously, I'm just hanging out. I know with how handsome and amazing I am, you might think I have a million friends, but truth be told, you guys in the band are my only real friends," He spoke and to be honest, this was probably the nicest thing he'd ever said about us. He usually complained about us being lazy brats who sat around on our butts all day. This compliment surprisingly lifted my spirits a little.

"Then why aren't you over at Elena's bugging the hell out of her?" I asked.

"Because Stefan's there," Damon said, in a 'duh' tone of voice that made me feel like my question was asinine or childish or something.

"What about Caroline?" I asked.

"As hard as you may find it to believe this, I actually enjoy hanging out with you, tiny," He said.

"I'm sure…" I trailed off when I saw the honest look in his cerulean eyes.

He took a sip of the chamomile tea. "It's true… and I wanted to show you something for the band," He added. _Typical. _

"Dude, you're going to start getting wrinkles from all this worrying. I think I see a gray hair," I lied, as I looked over at him with an amused look. I placed my mug on the coffee table and leaned back.

Damon sprang up to look at his reflection in the TV blocking my view of Penn Badgley. I smacked Damon in his back with the couch pillow but he wouldn't move. "Get out of my way!" I exclaimed, when he moved sideways to occlude my view even further.

Damon leaned back amused and jumped back onto the couch, a reassured look on his face. "I don't have any wrinkles or gray hair," He touched my cheek, sending an electric current through my body, "you are a _liar_, tiny,"

I rolled my eyes at him and screamed out as he flicked the TV off. "NO!"

"Even I know that that is a rerun," Damon commented, drily, "so shut up and let me read these reviews we got,"

"I don't want to read the reviews. Speaking of reviews, I was just at my doorstep when these girls came up to me, Klaus's sister being one of them," I told him.

Damon raised his eyebrows, "Danielle or Rebekah?"

"Danielle. Anyway, they were kind of mean at first but then they asked for our photos and stuff and they want you and Tyler to sign their autographs and everything….and they were so nice," I concluded.

Damon took a sip of his chamomile tea. "Charming," He put in.

"Yeah, I know, but at first I thought they were coming to beat me up or bash my head in or something, y'know… it's so amazing having younger people admire you," I knew I was blabbering by now but Damon just kept on listening.

"Hmmm, yeah… now, are you going to keep going on and on about our tween fanbase or do you want me to read the reviews?" He teased.

"I was just _saying_, Damon," I snapped, "Jeez…. Review me," I looked annoyedly at the floor trying to find anything interesting to stare at.

"Umm, I think you should read them yourself," Damon's voice was so strained and awkward that I looked up from the floor to see what the big idea was.

Damon was trying to assume he's usual nonchalant rockstar look but his feet were bouncing slightly in a nervous way and he ran a hand through his hair every so often in a way that hinted at his anxiousness. _Were the reviews really that bad? _

"Are they really that horrible?" I asked Damon, feeling butterflies gather in my stomach and make me feel queasy.

"Just read them already," Damon said, in an impatient voice that made me even more daunted.

Damon sighed and handed me the stack of papers which he'd cut out of certain magazines and newspapers. I took them, nervously, and opened the first one.

**SINGLE OF THE WEEK**

**From 'Into the Dark's First EP**

_**Teenage Revolution**_

_They're 'Into the Dark' and they've got something to say. And mostly it's about issues that actually affect teenagers. However, the young band (after all, Bonnie is just 17 years old and isn't old enough to vote or get wasted) are all whirling guitars, tossing their hair, beeping noises and choruses that end in 'yeah yeah yeah'. They might possibly be the future of rock and roll. Even if they're not, expect them to steal your hearts by the end of next month._

"Well, that's not that bad," I said, frankly, "but why the heck do they always keep going on about my age and how young I am? Like getting drunk is so mature," I said, sarcastically.

"Whatever," Damon said, rolling his eyes, "We got single of the week! And J-14 has presented us as a 'fresh-faced group with star potential'. The only crappy one we got was from M magazine,"

"What does it say?" I demanded, curious.

"That your lyrics sometimes sound super lame," Damon said, looking up at me to test my reaction.

I just shrugged, and placed the pile of reviews onto his knee.

"Are you not upset?" Damon looked surprised as he scooped them back into the small file he had with him.

"Nah, it's not that big of a deal," I told him, honestly. At least our lyrics weren't superficial and bubblegum pop like most of the recording artists out there at the moment.

"I thought it would bother you…" Damon trailed off.

"No, I've decided not to get caught up in this whole whirlpool thing. I mean, sometimes 'haters gonna hate' and all that and I've learned not to take everything people say to heart. If I believed everything Alaric and his friends say when we go to meetings, I'd have a head as big as the Manhattan, you know. Besides, I read an interview of Emily Bee and she said that she used bad reviews to line her kitty litter," I finished, humorously.

Damon chuckled, "That's weird. But it's very mature of you," He said, an impressed look on his face.

"Yeah, well…"

"But our lyrics are kind of lame, I have to admit," Damon added, as an afterthought almost.

"They're not 'lame'," I made quotation marks with my fingers, "they're different and not so mainstream which is why those companies don't accept them," I muttered, a little bitterly.

"Well, Alaric thinks we should start making our songs a little more relatable. I mean, how many teens are really going to take part in a 'teenage revolution'? We need to write about things they go through, what they feel…." Damon trailed off and I had to admit, that kind of did make sense. But it annoyed me that Alaric would go talk to Damon about _my _songs lyrics instead of coming directly to me with the criticism. I frowned at that.

"He didn't say anything to me," I snapped, upgrading my frown to a full blown scowl.

"Since when do you speak to Alaric?" Damon asked, looking a little ambivalent, "All you do usually is flutter your eyelashes and stare at him," His retort was nasty and was like a blow to my stomach. I stood up and glared at him, putting my hands on my hips.

"That's a lie, Damon, and you know it," I scowled, "All you do all day is stare at Caroline anyway," I lied, automatically, putting the first name I could think of onto my tongue.

"Now who's lying?" Damon said, standing up now and facing me with a frown on his face.

"It's still you. Besides, I'll have you know… Alaric calls me every day on my cell phone every day," I said and I was actually telling the truth. On the way home walking or in Elena's car, Alaric would call me and I actually looked forward to our chats to vent about my parents and schoolwork and the SAT's.

"Oh," Damon said, his voice a little calmer. "Well, he likes our songs but thinks they deal with things teenagers can't relate to that much. We need to make them a little more about love and friendships and-,"

"No! That's exactly what Caroline, Elena and Ty and I didn't want this whole band to be about… those superficial things…." I trailed off.

"They're not superficial… they're tangible to teens all over the world," Damon argued.

"But we want to make a difference with our songs. That's what 'Into the Dark' is all about," I told him, aggressively.

"No," Damon said, firmly, grabbing my hand, "that was what 'etc' was about… not 'Into the Dark'… the moment me and Stefan joined, it became a whole other ballgame. We want to be famous,"

"I'm sorry but I'm not going to write about these bubblegum-y things. I'm not changing how I write. It's what makes us different from everybody else. Damon Salvatore, I don't know why but I have this feeling that Alaric didn't say that at all and you just made this whole thing up so that you could write the lyrics. That's what you want, isn't it?" I accused, angrily. I was livid by now because of his audacity. _The nerve of this boy._

"Shut up,"

"Don't tell me to shut up! You want to take over _my _songwriting just like you took over everything else in _my _band. It's just so annoying and I've had it with you, Damon," I argued, letting out all the pent up frustration.

Damon grabbed my arms, "Shut up, tiny. Just shut up already," His blue eyes bore into mine.

I shook him off of me and shook my head a few times. "No! You can't boss me around," I ran a hand through my hair, "Urgh, you're just so damn bossy…All of the time it's 'do that' and 'don't do that' and I've had it up to here," I gestured to my neck, "with all your injunctions, Salvatore!"

I started walking away from him and he stalked over to me. I backed away until I was standing against a wall. Damon stood in front of me, a determined look in his face. "I have to be bossy or else nothing gets done," He explained, annoyed.

I glared at him, shooting him the iciest look I could muster. "I'm sick of it. I'm fed up of you in my house all the time, sneering at me, sitting on my bed with your stinking shoes even though I always tell you not to because it really pisses me off-,"

"You are so annoying!" He cried and as I was about to protest, he pressed his lips to mine, ending my tirade about his annoying antics.

A million emotions spiraled through my body. First, I was pissed off and I could feel Damon's anger through his kiss, the passion of it all. I knew there was a spark between Damon and me but us kissing multiplied it a million times. He pressed me against the wall, and as if against my will, I kissed him back hungrily. We stayed kissing that way for a few seconds before my phone rang. We ignored it and I ran a hand through Damon's hair until I realized it was Tyler's number. _Tyler!_

I pushed Damon away suddenly and reached for my phone just as it stopped ringing. I looked at Damon who was looking at me sheepishly and tiredly. "Why did you do that?" I asked him, in a defeated voice.

"It sure got you to shut your pretty little mouth up,"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter was all round, no stop Bamon and I think a good part of the next one has Bamon too! Tell me what you thought about this chapter in a REVIEW and I'll try to update super soon! Xx **

**Do you think that something is going to change between Bamon because of this kiss? Tell me!**

**I'll try to update soon(:**

**Lily **

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Or the plot parts I used from 'Sarra Manning''s book 'Guitar Girl'. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 8**

"You didn't need to kiss me to get me to stop talking," I informed him, vacuously. I felt like my cheeks were on fire from the close embrace and I could still feel his warm lips on mine.

"Yes, yes I did. You are just so annoying sometimes. I can't even stand to be in the same room as you occasionally," Damon commented, digging his hands into his pockets. It thrilled me for some strange reason to see that he looked flushed and a little disheveled after our kiss.

"Well, no one's asking you to stay," I told him, recovering from the kiss. "Here's the door," I gestured to it. I caught the side of Damon's face with my fingernails and he yelped out a little in pain. I watched as blood pooled on the spot and I felt a little queasy: I'd never really liked blood.

"Ohmygod, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I trailed off and hurried into the downstairs bathroom and grabbed some disinfectant spray and a plaster. Damon was sitting on the armchair when I came back, dabbing his wound with a tissue.

"No! Don't do that… it'll get infected," I told him, as I sat down in front of him and reached up to yank the tissues gently from his hand. He let go of them and looked down at me incredulously.

"I don't get your idiosyncrasies, tiny. One minute you're yelling at me to leave the room, the next minute you're worrying about a tiny wound of mine getting infected?" He looked perplexed as he let me spray the wound, wincing a little and trying to be brave.

"I'm weird," I said, as I cleaned the wound and placed a plaster on it. When I was done, I got up and returned the things to the bathroom.

Damon was standing by the door when I came back. "Your little scratching thing was not very nice," He said.

"It was an accident. I apologized and everything," I responded, trying not to get annoyed at him once more.

"I know," Damon added, then he neared me and put his hands to my waist, pulling me close to him.

I gasped out but I couldn't make myself pull away from him. Something made me want to be close to Damon Salvatore. Even the thought of Tyler couldn't repulse me from Damon's proximity and that scared me more than anything. "What do you want, Damon?" I asked, in a slightly shaky voice. I could smell his perfume _Hugo _by _Boss _and it drew me to him even more.

"We need to get one thing straight, Bon," Damon whispered, and I shivered involuntarily, and tried to pull away but he fixed me in his embrace. "This is my band as much as it is yours. I made everything real happen to your lame band and changed it to a kickass rocking machine so next time you go to complain about me, be thankful that I took you along for the ride," He purred.

I flinched at his harsh words, "That's not true. We could and would have made it without you," I said, confidently, but in real life, I wasn't actually sure if that was of veracity. I mean, Damon had done a whole lot for the good of the band and I wasn't sure if without him and his brother Stefan we would have even been recognized or not.

Damon laughed then and I realized we were so close I could see into the bottomless depths of his azure blue eyes. I felt like I was either going to drown in the small, turbulent pools he called eyes or take a pleasant swim in them. They were fixed unwaveringly on me and I felt the butterflies return to my stomach, swimming around with such tenacity that I felt a sick thrill from it all. He kept looking at me and I suddenly became aware of the lukewarm heat coming from his body and his slightly accelerated breathing. I thought of our kiss about 10 minutes ago and pulled away as Tyler's face flashed through my head.

"Come here," Damon whispered, his voice insidious and soft at the same time.

I shook my head, "You….you should…go," I told him, in a shaky voice. I personally felt like my emotions were going into overdrive and I didn't know how I was going to handle myself around Damon the next time I saw him. I could hardly process the last 5 minutes or what had happened in them. I sighed as my cell phone started to buzz around on the coffee table once more. I walked towards the table and grabbed my phone, seeing Tyler's name once more on the screen.

I whipped my head back to see what snide remark Damon would make but there was silence and I found myself in an empty room.

I sighed and picked up on Tyler. "Hey Ty, what's going on?" I asked, breathlessly.

"Hey Bon Bon. What's going on? You sound….weird. Is everything okay?" Tyler asked.

"Yes, yes," I said, as breezily as I could, "Everything's good. I'm just a little emotional because of the Gossip Girl episode I saw. Blair Wardorf said yes!"

I could practically see Tyler roll his eyes. He knew about my affection for Gossip Girl. "Okay, I know now that everything's okay. So did you start your Calculus homework yet?" Tyler asked, changing the subject.

"Nope, I'm about to go do it now. Did you do your economics paper?" I questioned.

"I started it," Tyler said truthfully, "but I was watching the Lakers game,"

I rolled my eyes at him, "Go finish it now. We only have a fortnight of school left and then we're free finally," I goaded.

"Fine," Tyler groaned, "You go do your homework,"

"Will do, Ty," I smiled, "I'll call you later then,"

"Sure thing." Tyler said, cheerfully, "Bye Bye,"

"Bye….Tyler?"

"Yes, Bon?" He asked, surely.

"Um, I love you, Ty,"

"Love you too, Bon,"

I hung up, sighing, feeling overwhelmed with guilt because of what had happened with Damon. _I had kissed him. _But it was amazing. Not like when I'd kissed Tyler. It was different and new and I'd never felt anything like it before. Yet, he annoyed me to the core. But I was Tyler's so-called girlfriend. So-called because I didn't know exactly what we were. And this was just going to be the start of the insane love triangle between Tyler, me and Damon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That scene with Damon made our relationship worse and better in equal amounts. Worse, because whenever Damon and I were in a room the tension was immediately upped and the air around us seemed to buzz with strain. Things had been said (mostly by me, I'd admit) and I couldn't just unsay them. I'd said a lot of mean things that I couldn't take back and although Damon had said some things too, I know that I'd overstepped my boundaries a couple of times. Those cruel words I'd thrown lay between us like a lumpy pillow- innocuous, not doing anyone any hurt, but getting in the way all the same.

Better though because the viciousness of those words had affected us and scared Damon and I into being more polite and civil with each-other and all those other qualities you needed to possess when you were in a band together. Fortunately, this new benevolent behavior, this conciliatory behavior, didn't give me a chance to get put to the test because I had to do the whole school thing while the others (with more lax parents or in Tyler's case: a mother he could manipulate) headed to New York to set up for our big gig that was happening in a few days.

The parents concurred after much foot-stamping, sulking and door-slamming in their faces, that I could take 2 days off school to go do 'some of my pop stuff' and so a week later, I sat in my corner of Alaric's office surrounded by my French revision sheets while Alaric drew things on a white flip chart.

"So after that little gig in SoHo's "Green Garden", you have a week of rehearsals which takes you here…" Alaric pointed to the relevant place on his Sharpie, "And then you have a week's residence at the Oak Park Inn. There should be some press and interviews and stuff between then but we'll sort it out as it comes, you know. The New York gig is going along as planned on Saturday night,"

"Is there a guest list?" Caroline wanted to know, an excited look on her face. She had her long blonde hair pulled into a bun and her blue eyes were kohl rimmed and looked extra wide.

"Three people each, Caroline," Alaric responded to her, systematically as he brought his marker back to the chart.

I smiled at that. _3 people? _The only 3 people who would actually want to listen to us strutting around on stage singing our songs were sitting around this glass-topped table.

"Bonnie," Alaric called, catching me unwary, "Do you have anything you want to add, babe?"

Everyone, including Anna, our publicist, and Alaric's assistant, Stevie, turned to look at me.

I shook my head, feeling a little embarrassed as I looked down at my French notes. "Nah, I was just thinking about something amusing," I told them all.

Alaric came around to place his hand on my shoulder, a concerned look on his face. "Oh poor Bon," He drawled, "You've got so much on your mind because of these exams and the pressure your parents are putting on you for them. It's a real pity we couldn't convince your parents to delay these tests for a while,"

"Yes, it's a real pity," I echoed, biting the edge of my pen.

"Bonnie's parents are really into getting a good education," Elena rushed to my rescue and I felt grateful for her. I felt Alaric's fingers flex on my back and I felt slightly uncomfortable. I shifted on my seat.

"Its okay, Alaric. It really is… Just a few more weeks and I'll be one hundred percent…one hundred and one percent in fact… for Into the Dark. You can just call me Commitment Girl," I put in, running a hand through my hair.

Alaric's hand moved from my shoulder to the top of my head and he patted my hair gently. "I know… I just don't want my little star to get all stressed out before our grand performance in a few days," He cooed.

I could see Damon and Caroline exchange looks that involved a lot of smirking and eye-rolling but I just ignored them. Elena looked at me comfortingly from one of my sides, then Stefan smiled and Tyler winked at me. I grinned at them all and ignored Damon who had just started speaking:

"So Bonnie shouldn't do publicity then," He said, smoothly, "I'll do her interviews, just to give her some extra time to….study,"

"Yes, that's a good idea… It'll make Bonnie even more wanted. Then we can put Bonnie out bit by bit and then launch her with an exclusive piece, front cover of course! That'll really hype her unavailability," Alaric enthused but his assistant, Stevie, and Anna, our publicist, murmured their agreements before I could object because I'd been practicing my interview techniques since forever.

I nibbled on my pen and watched Damon send a rancorous glare in my direction which I shielded with a cool smile.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Caroline, you know I saw you and Damon exchange those… looks while we were in that meeting. They were kind of mean," I admitted, in my room later than day. Caroline was staying the night over to help me revise for my English Literature because she'd always been good at that sort of thing.

Caroline sighed and flipped the page of my Teen Vogue that she was reading. "You know we were just kidding. At least I was. I know that Alaric likes you better than us and I don't mind," She told me, honestly. I could tell that she was being frank but I didn't like her nonchalance at this topic.

"He doesn't like me better! It's just because I'm the lead singer… Gosh, that sounded vain… I didn't mean it… I…" I trailed off and Caroline grinned and pushed the magazine aside. She threw her arms around me.

"You're the star, Bon. No matter how much Damon doesn't want to admit it. You're the real reason Into the Dark is a success. It's your sexy sense of je ne sais quoi." Caroline pressed, hugging me close.

I rolled my eyes, "I don't even know what that is. I don't have a sense of whatever… and we're all stars. This band… it's me and Elena, Ty and you against the world," I said, sleepily, as I leaned back into my pillow.

"Yes, I know. I'm never going to forget that." Caroline murmured, "You're my best friend, Bon," She yawned.

I sighed, "You too, Care. You and Elena, as well. I think we should hit the sack before we pass out," I suggested, tiredly.

"It has been a long day," Caroline concurred. I nodded and flicked the light off before I got under the covers. Caroline wiggled under them too and we lay there side by side just as we had done when we were kids. She leaned her head onto my shoulder. "D'after tomorrow is going to be so exciting. New York's beautiful, Bon bon,"

"I can't wait to see it, CareBear," I murmured, "We're going to rock New York,"

"You said it…. Into the Dark are going to be a legend," Caroline said, closing her eyes.

I closed my own as well and sank into the softness of my pillow. I thought about our big gig in New York the day after the next and I wondered if New York was as wonderful as in all those movies I'd seen on TV. I hoped it was. I wondered if I'd dream about New York and our gig but strangely, I didn't. I dreamed instead about a badass, blue eyed rocker called Damon Salvatore.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And I just wanted to put that little snippet about Bonnie and Caroline at the end because we all know that Care's harmless (and so is Damon so to speak)… What did you guys think of the developments?**

**Do you think something's gonna happen between Bamon in the big apple?**

**REVIEW please!**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 9**

The record company booked us into a hotel. Okay, it was more of a bed and breakfast and was kind of grimy and gray but it was something at least. But it was in the center of New York and I couldn't be more pleased. And even though my room was so tiny a mouse wouldn't be comfortable in it, I loved it all the same. My room was decorated in_ exciting_, invigorating shades of beige and grey and the free toiletries had already caused Caroline to get a rash but there was no one to boss me around like at home. I was psyched because there was no one to yell at me to get up and do my homework or chores or just to stop watching TV. I could lie in bed all day, watching TV, and no-one would tell me a thing.

The first night we spent in the bed and breakfast, Alaric took us out for dinner in a fancy restaurant called 'Red Chang' a little way from the place where we were staying. It was a Chinese restaurant and after every course they'd bring us out dainty little bowls of water to dip our hands in and clean them. It was so fancy and sophisticated and I felt so special and I knew that the rest of them did too. Caroline sat on my right side and Tyler on my other, Damon opposite to me next to Stefan and Elena and Alaric at the head of the table. I felt in that moment we were more than just a band: we were a family.

Alaric in general was an urbane guy. When Elena complained that she didn't like spicy food and would just order plain white rice, he ordered 7 different plates for her to try, insisting that she had to pick something special because we were all special. And when she coyly decided that she did like the crispy duck meal and the spring rolls, he gave her this cheerful, radiant look that made my heart leap and my stomach dip.

It was only until later that we all realized that we were actually the ones paying for the fancy restaurants and hotels we were staying in. But at the time, we were 6 teenagers who were being treated better than we'd ever been treated our entire lives. We felt prodigious and extraordinary like we were sovereigns or something. We felt like we'd travelled through space into another different, better, dimension where social outcasts, like most of us were, were treated like visiting royalty.

"Are you alright, Bon?" Alaric said, as he slipped into the seat next to mine when Caroline went to the bathroom.

I nodded, shrugging slightly, as I took a big gulp of the white wine he'd ordered for us. I'd never really been into drinking alcohol because I was a silly drunk and I could get slightly insane but this tasted good and as long as I was taking small sips, it was okay.

"I'm fine," I told Alaric honestly, "Thanks for all this- the dinners, the bed and breakfasts…." I trailed off, a gratitude filled look on my face.

Alaric waved a dismissive hand, "This is nothing compared to the kind of life you're going to be living. You have so much potential, Bonnie," He scooted his chair closer to mine, looking at me pointedly, "You are going to be famous, Bon. Rock-star-Mick-Jagger-People-Stop-in-Their-Tracks-And-Stare-At-You famous!" I felt a thrill ripple through me at his words, "You're going to stand on stage night after night and people are going to scream your name. You'll have tons of journalists begging to ask you whether you prefer Pepsi or Coca Cola. Every boy in this world is going to dream about you and every girl is going to covet being _you_," He insisted.

His voice was a deep seductive thump that delighted me to no end. It drowned out the other's friendly conversation and the clunking of cutlery on the tables and waitresses asking people what they would like to order. His brown eyes were fixed steadily on mine, a sure look on his face, and I knew a blush was sweeping my face. His endless praise was enchanting but it abashed me at the same time. Alaric's hand crept up to where mine was resting on the table and he lightly traced my knuckles with his feather like fingers. "Are you ready for that, Bonnie?" He asked, in a low voice.

I glanced across the table at Damon and Elena who were berating Stefan about something and Caroline, who was now sitting in Alaric's seat, was laughing at them. She hesitantly took a sip of Alaric's red wine and met my eyes and smiled. I smiled back at her, letting the grin reach my ears. I turned back to Alaric whose eyes were still on my face, a slightly calculating look in his eyes. "I don't know, Ric. I don't know if any of us," My hand gestured to my friends, "are ready for that sort of thing,"

"It's great then that I'm here to help you get ready, then, isn't it?" Alaric's brown eyes fixed steadily on my face for a lingering second before he stood up, letting go of my hand, asking if anyone wanted to order another drink.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next afternoon, we were all hanging out in the dressing room before the show, I felt an incredibly sickening feeling in my stomach. I knew there was something wrong with the chicken sandwich I'd eaten for lunch. It tasted… weird. All the others had gotten the ham ones but I'd insisted on chicken for some reason.

I hopped up off the 3 seated couch where I was perched next to Elena, Stefan and Tyler and gestured wildly to Damon who was the nearest to the door. "Where's the bathroom?" I asked, breathlessly, because I knew I was about to throw up.

"Here," Damon jumped up from his chair and ushered me into a tiny room on the side. I ran to the toilet and dry heaved into the toilet. I could feel hands holding my hair back and expected to see Elena or Caroline or even Tyler but surprisingly, it was Damon.

I sighed, still feeling incredibly sickly. Just when I thought it was a false alarm, the chicken sandwich I'd had for lunch spiraled out of my stomach and into the toilet with the velocity of a high speed stream train.

"Is that everything?" Damon asked, in a concerned voice, as he peeled my hair away from my face gingerly.

I stared down into the toilet for a few more seconds until nothing came then stood up, feeling slightly better. I nodded slowly and Damon took a few steps back, a strange look on his face. "I'm done…" I said, breathlessly, "Thanks for… you know, Damon,"

Damon nodded, just as Caroline and Elena hurried into the room. Tyler and Stefan peeked in from the side of the door and I grinned as I noticed how small this room was for us 6 people to be in. I quickly flushed the toilet and closed the lid and sat on it, still gasping slightly.

"What's going on?" Elena asked at the same time as Caroline said: "Are you okay?"

I got up quickly and stumbled towards them. They parted like the red sea and Tyler led me to the bed. I sat down, feeling steadier. "Yes…. I'm fine… I had a bad sandwich for lunch," I explained, as my friends settled around me.

Tyler put his arm around me and I leaned into his embrace. I noticed Damon frowning at us from across the room and shot him a slight smile.

"Do you want some water?" Caroline asked, "Should I get Alaric or something?"

I shook my head, "I don't think I can do this… this concert, I mean," I muttered, in a hopeless voice. I slumped forward, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes.

"You look awful, no offense," Damon commented, though I could tell from his remark that he did mean offense. Where was the kind Damon who had helped me throw up a while ago? "She needs more make-up, Caroline,"

"Shut up, idiot," Tyler said, firmly, from beside me. "She looks beautiful,"

"I really really don't feel like I can go on stage. I've never been so nervous. Maybe I'll forget my lyrics. What if I do?" I wailed, and Elena crouched on the floor in front of me, a supporting look on her face.

"You've been alright when we've played before," She told me, "You'll be okay,"

Caroline appeared next to me with her make-up bag. She shoved Tyler away from me and he tumbled onto the floor. "Ouch, Caroline," He muttered, as he got to his feet and stood next to Stefan who was watching over us with worry.

"Sorry, Ty ty. This is an emergency," She turned my head to her and reapplied my eye-liner and lip gloss. Then she crinkled her face. "That's better, Bon. But you should brush your teeth. Your breath is all stinky and pukey," She admitted.

"That would make you feel better," Elena backed her up.

I crashed back into the pillows, grimacing but Damon wasn't having any of it.

"We're going on in 5 minutes," He stated, grimly, before he stalked out of the room and in the direction of the stage, grabbing his electric guitar with him.

I rubbed a hand on my stomach and pouted up at the remaining band members in the room. Caroline and Elena looked incredibly worried. Stefan looked indifferent but I could see concern sparked in his green eyes and Tyler offered me an encouraging smile.

"I can't go on… This is New York. New. Freaking. York," I exclaimed. I waved a weak hand at Caroline who'd been trying to reapply my blusher while I spoke. "I'm terrified,"

"But you don't get stage fright," Tyler said, positively. He pulled my hand and yanked me to my feet.

"But I've got it now," I told them, feebly, "We've only played a few gigs before but now it's important. People are expecting us to do well. People are expecting us to _shine_,"

Elena sighed and sat down on the couch where I'd been sitting. "Bon's right," She muttered as she stroked her guitar softly. "It was easier when we were expected to screw up,"

"We're NOT going to screw up," Tyler assured me, in a determined voice.

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Ty," Caroline added, brightly. She looked over at me, "Now go brush your teeth and get your ass on stage," I felt like she was channeling her inner Damon but I sighed and complied with her.

The others filed off to get their things ready, all except for Elena who followed me into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth quickly, feeling a teensy bit better now that my teeth were clean and I noticed her leaning against the door. "I'm scared too, Bon," She told me.

I sighed, "Like Tyler said… I've never gotten stage fright. Why now?" I asked, almost to myself.

We walked out into the dressing room which was now devoid of people. "Because it's New York, New York," Elena muttered, running a hand through her straight brown hair.

"Yes, but it's just a label, just another show," I said, trying to convince myself and Elena at the same time.

"Just another show," Elena repeated with a hint of melancholy to her voice, "That's a better attitude," She admitted.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm still nervous," I admitted as I bit my lip.

"It's natural to be nervous, or so I read online…" Elena trailed off just as Stefan entered the room.

He rolled his forest green eyes. "Damon's going to blow a gasket. Come on we're on in 30 seconds," He urged.

We both nodded and Elena picked up her guitar. We followed him out of the door. Stefan turned to look at us with encouraging eyes as we reached the stage door. "It's going to be fine," He assured us and I gulped and tried to believe him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I didn't feel any better when I walked up on stage, to be honest. The stage lights were so damn bright that I was almost blinded but I could almost feel the audience's eyes on me, staring me down with judging faces.

I tapped my microphone partly to make sure it was working and mostly to have something to do instead of staring awkwardly at the ground. I looked around at my friends when I was done. They were standing up straight, staring the crowd in the face, determined looks on their faces. Damon had drilled it into our brains that we had to look 'aggressive' on stage and not act like cowards.

I straightened up, smoothing my light blue bow dress in place and placing my most resolute look on my face. I looked at Caroline who was standing the nearest to me, looking forward unwaveringly in a dark blue minidress and some dark blue streaks in her blonde hair, silver heels on her feet. My eyes flitted to Damon and Stefan standing almost side by side, the former in a pair of black leather pants and a 'Van Helsing' shirt, a fierce look on his face while the latter was just looking indifferent in a pair of white jeans and a stripy gray and white shirt as he sat behind his drum set. Tyler stood with his bass next to Elena who was dressed in baggy jeans and tiny pink tee-shirt that said 'Beautiful' on it and was short enough to show the fake jewel she'd placed in her naval which was glinting with the stage lights.

But that night, my performance wasn't up to notch. It didn't want to 'launch itself'. I couldn't get comfortable on stage for some reason. Damon nodded his head to start the performance and Stefan started the beat but I couldn't lose myself in the show like I always did. I was too aware of the scary business types in black suits who were standing at the bar when I made my way to the dressing room. And my stupid blue dress kept riding up my thighs every time I moved and I had to keep involuntarily yanking it down.

My bottle of water which I sipped on in our break tasted of dry ice and I tapped my feet against the floor trying to remember our songs during the break. I gulped back water, feeling nervous and just stood there going over our lyrics so I wouldn't forget them. I hardly managed to cry out the lyrics to our songs let alone think of something witty to say on stage during our mid-set list banter. And the worst thing of all was the technical problems I was having with my mic.

By the time I was blurting out the lyrics to _As I breathe (Being me) _one of our new songs, my microphone would squeak every so often.

"_Sometimes I feel like there's no life in me_…" I sang, trying to ignore the scratchy noises that were emanating from my microphone.

"_Whoa, oh, oh, oh,oh_," Caroline and Elena echoed from behind me.

"_Maybe what I'm holding isn't the key…"_

"_Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh_,"

As I launched into the chorus: "_As I breathe…. Now I see!... That I'll survive without you being a part of me… As I breathe! As I scream! I realize that I'll do fine… just being me…",_ Damon was glaring at me and there were squeals of feedback blurting from my microphone every couple of lines.

I tried to look all moody and indifferent like the faulty microphone was part of the plan and the coolest thing in the world but when someone yelled "Fix your microphone!" I totally freaked out. The audience was supposed to be there to support us and cheer not boo and heckle and drag our self-esteems down to the floor. I stumbled over the last lines of the song, feeling sick once more.

"_I used to watch the sunlight fade over me… and what used to be left was nothing I could see… but this is where I will put that to a stop, doesn't matter if it takes everything I've gooooooooot…."_ I sang the last note, going a little off tune and feeling like I was in a bad dream I'd once had. Except this time, thankfully, I wasn't naked.

Our last song, _We Wanna (Save the World)_, was supposed to be a giant finale, a stomping, screaming, one band make the world crazy machine. As we launched into it, Damon jumped to the center of the stage and did one of the triple flips he'd been bragging about and all the girls screamed his name. He flipped his hair and ran back to his place, strumming his electric guitar tunefully all the while. _Show-off. _I thought to myself as I sang with all the passion I could muster (which honestly wasn't a whole lot). I was just standing there, watching them all rock out while I did my best not to puke, listening to my microphone make this godawful racket when something frigid soaked me to the core. A nanosecond later, I saw an empty plastic beaker fall to the ground in front of me and my mic stand. _Some idiot had thrown their damn drink at me! _I extrapolated, feeling angry and embarrassed at the same time.

I looked around to see if any of the others had reacted but only saw Damon rocking out, flicking his hair back and forth and Caroline rocking out on her keyboard, her blonde hair flying around her and looking like she was having the time of her life. Tyler was drinking in the crowd's attention as he rapped his part of the song and Stefan looked like he was having the time of his life. Even Elena looked ecstatic on her guitar as she leaned forward to brush the hands of some screaming fans.

I felt this red-hot rage flare up inside of me and I got madder and madder. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd flung my microphone and its stand angrily across the room, hearing it crash down. Then I flounced off stage in such a way that I knew that Tiger Beat would call me a 'rock and roll baby diva' but I didn't care. _Whatever. _

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And you guys probably notice by now that Bonnie in this story has some anger issues but nobody'sperfect. It just makes her more REAL having some flaws because even though we might not want to admit it, we all do. **

**I wanted to put an extra special thank you in for TheAlexis who wrote the song (As I breathe) with her friend Alyssa. Thanks sooooooo much, Alexis! We all know that my own written songs suck (: So kudos to Alexis for the awesome lyrics…**

**Anyway, REVIEW please because I love them! **

**I'll try to update soon(: xx**

**Lily **

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Nope. Or the plot parts I took from Sara Manning's 'Guitar Girl'. **


	11. Chapter 10

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 10**

I sighed as I sat in the dressing room waiting for the others to finish the set. I don't know how they went on without me being lead singer and all but I decided to leave it up to them to deal. I was wet and mad and when I scrambled out of the doors and the security guards looked at each-other with mock insane looks and hurried out of the way as if I was a bulldog on a wild rampage, I was not amused. I leaned back on the sagging sofa, waiting as patiently as I could for the rest of my friends. I knew they wouldn't be happy with what I'd done but all I wanted was to get back to the bed and breakfast and hide under the covers and pretend this night never happened. I was so glad that _Into the Dark _didn't do encores. Damon thought it was better to leave the crowd 'hungry for more darkness'. His words, not mine.

"Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you?" Damon bellowed at me even before he'd gotten through the door. His face was red with anger and he threw his guitar on the floor with such fervor, I knew how furious he was at me. "What was with the whole prima donna act?"

I pouted and said nothing, not wanting to blow up in his face and besides, ignoring him annoyed him and I wanted to do that.

"You spent most of the set standing there like you were a scarecrow glued to the floor and you obviously didn't tune up properly, you idiot, or else the microphone would never have been screwed up like that and what was-,"

Elena cut Damon off. "Shut up, Damon!" She said, angrily. She plopped down beside me and I saw she was carrying my microphone and stand. "Here's your stuff. I don't think they're broken," She added, softly.

"Yeah, miraculously!" Damon shouted, starting another rant and causing me to roll my eyes. I watched as Tyler, Caroline and Stefan came in to join us. "Even though you threw it across the stage like a mad diva. We can't afford for you to screw up," He came up to me and glared, "This is serious,"

"Oh give it a break, Damon, already." Caroline snapped at him, coming to my defense. "So Bonnie had a bad show, so what…"

"It's not the end of the world," Elena shot him a pointed look and I was glad that I had my two best friends to support me and back me up.

"Yes it is!" Damon shouted once more before he turned on his heel and stomped out of the door.

Tyler handed us energy drinks from the little fridge and Caroline took one and then nudged me with her elbow and I couldn't help it. I started smirking at Damon's behavior and Elena shook her head and began to giggle as well. Tyler joined in and moments later so did Stefan. By the time Alaric walked into the dressing room a while later, all 5 of us were clutching our sides and shaking with convulsive laughter.

"The gig wasn't that awful," Alaric assured us, smiling. "You don't need to cry,"

"We're not crying," Caroline exclaimed, "These are happy tears," She spluttered.

"Nope, not happy tears. Tears of hysteria," I put in and then we all laughed manically again.

Alaric smoothed down his Louis Vuitton shirt and stood tapping his Gucci-clad food while he waited for us to calm down. Stefan was the first to stop laughing. "I'm going to the bathroom." He said, before he shot us one last amused smirk and headed into the tiny room, slamming the door behind him.

"Got that out of your systems, have you?" Alaric wanted to know, once we'd stopped giggling and our cackling had dissipated to a few choked-out, held in chuckles.

We all nodded and I noticed him looking at my legs where my dress had ridden up again. I pulled it down anxiously and Alaric looked away quickly.

He cleared his throat. "You all need to come say hello to a few important people," He said, distantly, "Some journalists and a couple of producers and stuff…"

I stood up, shaking slightly, but I stabilized myself. I had really needed that laughing session. Caroline gulped down the rest of her energy drink and then she and Elena got up too.

Alaric shepherded us back into the club with one fluid gesture, his hand resting on the small of my back as the rest of them trailed behind us. As we met a big succession of people who just blabbered at us and didn't wait for us to speak, I noticed Damon slouching against the back wall talking to a girl with blonde hair and green-blue eyes dressed like a skank in a tiny skin colored dress. I turned back to raise my drink at him in a gesture of apology for making him so incredibly mad, he was making out with skanky girl. I wondered why the sight of someone I practically hated making out with another girl made my stomach ache.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After that gig, it was back to Mystic Falls and my all too non-glamorous life. My Stop/Start pop rock band career was pulled to the 'stop' side for a few months of prepping for Final exams with Tyler, Elena and Caroline while Damon and Stefan waited in New York with Alaric, planning and tuning and chatting with journalists, anticipating us to be done with our more pedantic gestures so we could re-board the Rock'N'Roll train at Almost Famous port. Or something like that.

It was like none of Into the Dark had happened. My brain got stuffed with English Literature notes about Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' then 'Macbeth' and 'Romeo and Juliet' until I felt like I was best friends with the tragic heroes. I was burdened with hundreds of Psychics equations and I wondered why I'd ever considered taking the darn subject. I hardly had time to see my other friends let alone talk to them. Being in a band had become a far away, obscure memory. I went from my classrooms to my bedroom (with a color-coded revision schedule that Dad had oh-so-kindly bought for me) then back again to the classrooms. The only brief break from school was my first big interview for 'Us' magazine which took place in a café in Richmond while Stevie, Alaric's assistant, sat beside me and disappeared in time for me to get incredibly tongue tied over the questions about sex and my own lack of experience with it.

The day I sat my final exam was the day the issue of 'Us' went on sale, the one I was starring in. There was my picture on the cover, a cheeky look on my face, a photo from a previous photo shoot with 'Us' with the headline 'Is this the sexiest virgin in America? Selena Gomez, be afraid… be very afraid…' slapped across my bare midriff.

Inside, it was way, way worse.

**Bonnie Bennett: A Fabulous Rocker with Final Exams?**

**By Marie King**

Bonnie Bennett sits opposite me in a small café. Outside, the sun shines brightly and inside, a skinny girl with cappuccino colored skin and jade colored eyes and brown hair the color of coffee twists sugar packets nervously and sighs every time I ask a question.

We all hate those prodigious children, don't we? Those overly irritating kids who pass their final exams with all A+ and we think, don't you give it a break already? You're going to HARVARD, we GET it! But 17 year old ("Can't you just say I'm freaking 18?") Bonnie Bennett is a genius of another kind. Even though she claims she never took singing lessons as a child and wrote her first song in her World History notebook, she's already being compared to the likes of Emily Bee and even, Joan Jett. If they wrote the serious, cynical songs she did though….

"People always go on about listening to songs that relate to them," Bonnie says, "But I write songs that talk about a better you, a better world, just an all round better universe… things that mean stuff,"

She does this kind of thing a lot. Answers questions in that wry, sly way. And it's only when I play this back on the plane back to New York that I realize that she's given nothing away. Well, almost nothing…

"There seems to be some tension between you and Damon Salvatore, the electric guitar player when you're on stage. Care to comment," I ask as the guy with Bonnie goes to pick up another Mountain Dew for her. She seems to run on them.

Bonnie sighs again, deeply this time. "I don't know why you'd say something like that," She says, firmly, and after a long pause she adds, "Damon and I are good friends,"

"Where did you two originally meet?" I press, needing more details on them.

Bonnie looks up and fixes me with a wily, green eyed glare. "At a gig. It's all written there in our biography book 'Into the Dark: A Closer Look'," She looks bored as she picks up the Mountain Dew the guy has just placed on the table in front of her. She cracks it open and takes a generous sip.

I try to go for a more direct response. "Are you a couple?" I ask.

Bonnie almost chokes on her Mountain Dew. "As if!" She retorts, sarcastically, and then she collects herself. "I'm actually sort of in a relationship with Tyler Lockwood,"

"The bass player." I comment, "I'm sure you've heard the rumors about him dating Rebekah Mikaelson from the Originals,"

"What? And what Originals?" Bonnie asks, obviously confused.

"The new rising band also from your area. So do you not know about Tyler and his so-called relationship? We even have some pictures on our website of them kissing last weekend in New York," I press.

"I don't know about that," Bonnie admits, softly. She has a calculating yet hurt look in her eyes.

"Okay. Back to you and Dangerous Damon. Would you ever think about dating him?" I ask.

"Nope. We're…friends. It'd get complicated if we started dating,"

"So you've thought about dating then?"

"I didn't say that," Bonnie argues, "I'm dating Tyler and these Originals rumors you're talking about are just that… rumors," She looks firm.

"So your songs that hint at love are talking about Tyler Lockwood right?"

Her pouty lips twist and then she looks up again, her brown hair falling in her face. "My songs are just stories. Songs don't have to be about real things. For example, Eminem writes songs about killing his wife and tossing her body in the river and no-one bugs him about if that's real or not," She comments nonchalantly, smartly…

"But some of your songs are quite sexy like 'Off The Edge' your new single. The lyrics go, correct me if I'm wrong:

_Touched me with your poison_

_Touched me with your love_

_Got me a little crazy_

_Baby, you amazed me. _

Bonnie looks like she's trying to hold in her laughter. "Oh that's not about sex," She says and she casts a look for her companion who is talking to a waitress at the side of the café. "How could you think that? If you listen to the rest of the song, it says

_'I get it, I pushed you off the edge…_

_I didn't care what people said_

_I was caught up in the feeling _

_I pushed you off the edge_

_Got twisted with a bit of revenge, _

_You say my rebellion has to end…_

_I pushed you off the edge' _"She concludes singing in her beautiful voice, proving that her voice isn't edited at all in the recording studio. She goes on speaking after taking a deep breath, "It talks about a girl who wasn't herself so she pushed the guy she liked away…"

"But the opening lyrics are pretty sensual," I comment, casually.

"It's not about that… I'm only 17 for god's sake," She runs a hand through her hair and looks a bit worried.

"17 year olds have sex," I put in.

"Well, I don't," Bonnie said, firmly, "Oh god… this is the headline isn't it… about me not… having sex…" She added, breathlessly. "Like I'm a big freak,"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The interview went on and on like that. As if I was this sexy, mysterious girl next door who spent all her time using her unused sensual energy into writing these songs. Alaric was mad when Stevie told him what I'd said, told me that I should've just pretended or at least ignored Ms. Marie King when she'd asked. But when it was printed and the press and the radio picked up on it, he didn't seem to mind so much, saying it all added to my 'attractiveness'. I didn't know if I believed him or not.

I was incredibly pissed and kind of surprised to find out the day I came back from talking to the journalist from 'Us Weekly' that what she'd said about Tyler and Rebekah from the Originals was true. I saw a picture of him leaving a club called 'Crave' in New York, his arms wrapped around her slender waist and I was even more shocked to find out that the band was formed of Klaus, who Elena used to date, his creepy brother Elijah, their beautiful blonde sister Rebekah and Elena's freaking _cousin _Katherine.

It turned out that Elena and Caroline knew about the Originals but hadn't wanted to tell me. Apparently, they'd started booking gigs in LA and had worked their way to New York. I remembered Danielle, Klaus's little sister and wondered if her siblings had been in a band yet when she'd come to croon over me with her friends or not. Also, Tyler had gone for the weekend to New York and that was when he'd met Rebekah. I told myself I didn't care but inside my heart was breaking.

I'd called Elena crying on the phone while my tears fell down onto my French vocab sheets which I was supposed to be revising for the last test and she'd comforted me and the next morning she'd picked me up for school with my favorite chocolate cake with the words 'Tyler's a jerk' on it in vanilla icing. She urged me to call him but I kept pushing that action away. She said that maybe Us Weekly had made things up. But when I showed her the picture, she got a grim look on her face and she hadn't spoken for a few seconds. Then she'd said "I think you should still call him," I didn't call him until the night before Elena, Caroline and I were set to return to New York.

I was sitting on my bed, watching E! when another couple of pictures of the new 'young it rocker couple' Tebekah as they were calling them flicked across the screen and Guiliana Rancic went on and on about them in an excited voice. I decided that enough was enough! Tyler and I were supposed to be together…

"Tyler," I said, once he picked up.

"Hey Bon Bon. What's going on, chica?" He asked, in a happy voice.

"Don't call me, chica! I know about you and Rebekah. I thought we were together, Tyler. Then I find pictures of you in NY with her. And it's Klaus's sister for God's sake… I don't know… Are those rumors about 'tebekah' true?" I asked, breathlessly.

Tyler was silent for a few seconds. "Yes, Bonnie. They are… I'm with Rebekah now," He said, in a quiet, sorrowful voice.

"But w-w-we were l-like together? How? Didn't we have to break up first?" I asked him, blabbering but I couldn't help it.

"Well, see, I didn't feel we were actually together-together…Sure, we hugged and we walked together and stuff but we never kissed… we never slept together, Bonnie-,"

"So that's it… because I didn't sleep with you we're over, right?" I asked, angrily. "You could have at least had the decency to tell me that you were going to go out with Rebekah. We've been friends since forever. Didn't you think you owed me that at least?"

"Yes, Bon. And it wasn't because you didn't sleep with me. It's because… there was no passion between us. And I'm with you, I should have broken up with you first but we weren't really together, not officially… I'm sorry, Bonnie-,"

"No, I'm sorry," I said, snappily, before I hung up in his face. He tried dialing my number a couple more times but I didn't reply. I lay down in bed, bawling my eyes out over a guy who I cared about who thought we weren't 'really together'. Then, when the tears faded… I was more angry than upset.

The phone rang another time and because I was so pissed, I picked up, wanting to yell at him. "Tyler, I swear to God if you call me again, I will march over to you and your little Rebekah and knock you both out," I yelled, as soon as I picked up.

"It's Damon, tiny. What are you going on about?" Damon's voice came through my phone and I cringed back into my pillows then remembered how Damon had yelled at me backstage at the last gig. Fuelled by Tyler's betrayal, my anger blazed higher.

"Nothing. None of your business. Goodnight," I said, briskly.

"Goodnight. But you are coming tomorrow to New York, aren't you, tiny?" Damon asked, in a softer voice.

"Yes, see you then," I hung up then choking up as I remembered I would have to see Tyler and Rebekah tomorrow and that upset me more than anything. I couldn't sleep well that night. I spent most of it crying into my pillow, thinking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. From the dreadful interview to Tebekah, I didn't feel in the best spirits. And when I picked my phone up to see what time it was and it registered 3AM and I saw my wallpaper of me, Tyler, Caroline and Elena, I threw the phone at the floor, crawling back under the covers and wishing I didn't have to come out again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, Bonnie's moody but she's rather upset. To clear things up, the Originals band formed a little after Into the Dark and they started in LA after they got an agent. Then on the weekend when Tyler finished his exams, he went back to New York and met Rebekah (who was there with the rest of The Originals). **

**Anyway, REVIEW and tell me what you thought!**

**And, the spectacular lyrics in the interview to the song 'Of the Edge' were written by the special, amazing TheAlexis! So big round of applause for her great sense of rhyme and rhythm. Into the Dark would have my lame, sucky lyrics if it wasn't for her!**

**I'll try to update soon(: xx**

**Lily**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Nuh-uh not me;) **


	12. Chapter 11

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 11**

"Come on, Bon. We're waiting for you in the limo," Elena moaned on the phone the next morning.

I nodded, touching up a bit of my eyeliner and sighing. "I'm almost done. I'll be down in 5," I responded, as cheerily as I could considering my mood. I hadn't slept well at all and after the confirmation Tyler gave me of Tebekah, I wasn't exactly little Ms. Sunshine. But I'd come to a conclusion: I wasn't going to let Tebekah ruin my day, no matter what happened.

"Okay babe," She paused then replied more softly, "Don't fret over the whole Tyler thing. You know you weren't really in love with him. I know what love is now. I thought I had it with Klaus back then but it wasn't real…with Stefan, it's love and I get now what they all say about it being the best feeling of all,"

"That's BS. Love is just a chemical reaction in the brain and it fades eventually," I put in, pouting as I rolled cherry red lipstick over my lips and then smacked them together.

Elena giggled, "You're acting like such a boy, Bon," She sighed, "Well, when you find love, you'll get what I mean,"

"I'm not Rihanna. I won't find love in a hopeless place," I said, sarcastically, and I could practically see Elena rolling her eyes.

"Okay, okay, Miss Sarcastic. I'll see you in 5," She responded, before she hung up. I dropped my phone onto my dresser and then ran a hand through my hair so it fell sleekly down my back.

I smiled at my reflection, took a comforting look at the Emily Bee posters hanging on my wall, surrounding the room and I whispered, "Goodbye room," because I knew this was going to be a long stay in the big Apple. I then grabbed my suitcase from on the bed, flicked the light off and hurried out of the room and down the steps, ready to face the world.

"Mom, Dad… I'm leaving," I called out, throwing my bag on the floor and going to search for my parents so I could say goodbye to them before I left.

"In here, Bonnie," I heard my Dad's voice from the living room. I rushed in there and my parents were sitting on the couch. My mom's eyes were red and I rushed forward and gave her a big hug, feeling warm tears splash down my face. I never thought I'd be this sad to leave home for a long time. I didn't think I was the kind of girl who liked to stay at home or who would be homesick.

Mom hugged me close and I felt her familiar perfume waft over me and I was struck with a sense of nostalgia. She kissed my cheek. "I'll miss you, Bon Bon," She murmured into my ear.

"I'll miss you too, Mom." I exclaimed emotionally and then I stepped back and fell into my Dad's arms. He hugged me close.

"Take care of yourself, baby," He told me, looking into my eyes with his own brown ones. "You know I don't approve of this rockstar thing but if you love it, then I'm proud of you whatever you do," He rubbed my back and I let a few more tears squeeze out of my eyes before I stepped back, knowing I had to leave now if I was ever going to.

"Bye guys. I'm going to miss you so much," I exclaimed before I blew them a kiss, turned my back on them and left to go pursue my rockstar career.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I felt a thrill go through my body as the plane launched into the sky towards New York. I sent one last wistful look at my hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia then looked over to my two best friends, Caroline and Elena who were sitting on the seats next to mine. Elena's legs were propped on the headrest, her Beats in her ears, swaying from side to side to the music while Caroline was reading a Nicholas Sparks book, a dreamy look on her face.

I sank back into my seat and sighed, thinking of how my bags were this time packed for an indefinite stay and how I had a Tupperware container of lasagna in my handbag because Mom thought that the food on airplanes tasted really bad even though in first class, that wasn't the case at all.

I yawned, realizing how tired I was because I hadn't gotten much sleep, and decided to take a little nap. I put my headphones into my ear and Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" blasted through my iPod. I closed my eyes and as Lana's comforting voice boomed through my ears, I fell into a deep sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Soon, Elena and Caroline and I were struggling through JFK with our suitcases. But I considered myself lucky though because Elena had to drag her guitar case too and Caroline had to lug along her keyboard. We must have looked a funny trio as we staggered through the airport, travel sick and exhausted from the long, albeit comfortable, journey. Cameras flashed as we exited the Arrivals and I forgot how people actually knew who we were. I pushed my sunglasses onto my eyes, feeling like a diva, but what could I do? The camera flashes were hurting my eyes and I was beat. I needed to go get a good night's sleep in whatever hotel we were going to before I'd be able to do anything.

"Bonnie!" The reporters shouted, "Elena! Caroline! How long are you staying in New York?" They questioned. I stopped to sign a couple of signatures but then hurried forward to where Stevie, Alaric's assistant, and a couple of bodyguards were standing. They surrounded us immediately and one of them took my bags. They steered us out of the airport and into the limo and I sank into the soft leather of the seat, Elena and Caroline to my side.

Stevie slipped onto my other side and started talking animatedly as the limo drove off. "Hi Bonnie," He beamed then acknowledged Elena and Caroline before he turned back to me, "How did your tests go? Great, great… I hope you're not too tired because _hello, shopping!_"He gestured to a peppy looking brunette girl in the front of the limo, next to the driver.

"Alexis!" He called and she turned to look his way, her brown eyes warm and friendly, "Bonnie, this is Rose, your new stylist. Rose's going to take you shopping. Isn't that great? Yay. She's your personal stylist, Bon," He turned to look at Elena and Caroline who were watching expectantly, "your stylist is back at the hotel with Damon and Stefan, girls," They nodded and he looked back over at me, "Anyways, Alaric was really pissed about you not having the latest Nikes in that photoshoot you did for Us Weekly with the interview so Rose will get you all the latest designs and shizz. Boy! He said you were a fashion disaster about to happen. Didn't like that weird dress you were wearing at your last gig either. So y'know Stylist…" He beamed at Rose who waved at me and I waved back, a little hesitantly, not knowing whether to feel flattered or offended about the whole stylist thing. It could go both ways.

I'd forgotten how much Stevie liked to talk and how eager he was about fashion and all those things. No one else could put a word in when he was around. I was just kind of annoyed about the whole Alaric judging my clothes thing and I felt even more irked when Rose ran her eyes over my outfit: a comfy pair of old blue skinny jeans and an oversized gray shirt with distaste. I mean, they were travel clothes, for God's sake! She should thank her lucky stars I even put make-up on.

I got a sudden surge of anger. "I don't need a stylist. I can choose clothes perfectly for myself," I burst out and Caroline scoffed from beside me and I shot her a warning look.

"Need is putting it mildly, honey," Rose said, and I noticed she had a prim little British accent. I suddenly remembered Klaus and his bitchy sister Rebekah and got even angrier. "If I have to look at that t-shirt any longer, I might just throw myself into the incoming traffic,"

"My t-shirt is part of my travel wear. I'm not going to travel in a Gucci little black dress," I stated, firmly, "Nobody does that," I cringed as I looked over at Caroline and Elena and noticed they were in fact dressed in designer clothes: Elena in a little red Guess bubble dress and Caroline in some white Tommy Hilfiger boyfriend jeans and a royal blue sequined Stella McCartney tank top.

"You're a star," Rose said bluntly, "You can't dress like you got your clothes from a thrift store,"

"What's wrong with thrift stores?" I demanded, quickly looking to Stevie for help but he was texting furiously on his cell phone and Elena and Caroline were looking at me in a way that said they agreed with Rose. This was beyond irritating.

"Everything," Rose replied. "You need to be in designer couture 24/7 like your friends over here," She gestured to them happily.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to buy overly expensive clothes just because they're by some overrated designer. I create my own style, getting clothes from wherever I want. I'm not against designer but I like to wear other stuff too,"

Stevie looked up from his message and grinned at me, "Damon said you'd act exactly like this," He teased, "But it's going to be cool. No! It's gonna be super fun. Amazing? Amazing."

I scoffed, wondering how on earth Damon knew me so well even though I'd hardly known him for a long time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shopping with Rose was exactly like shopping with Caroline except Caroline knew not to force at me the hooker-like clothes Rose kept on throwing at me to try on. I was so jealous of Elena and Caroline whom they'd dropped off at the hotel while I had to go with this annoying bitch on an 'emergency shopping spree', Rose insisted that the clothes she chose would give me 'sophistication and class' which were 'vital to a rock star'. Her annoying British accent added to my anger. I was glad that Stevie had come along but he didn't really do much except text and talk on his phone and listen to random snippets of my whining about outfits and Rose cajoling me into trying on things I'd made fun of people back at my school when they'd wore them.

But between Stevie's selective hearing and Rose's threats, I was forced into outfits that should have had a parental advisory sticker pressed onto them.

Later on, when I met the others back in the hotel lobby where we were having a little party with people Alaric had invited to celebrate our record deal, Rose had forced me into a push-up bra and a tiny black skirt that was barely long enough and a sassy little gray ruffled tank which I had to admit, I didn't really mind that much. The boys, as well as Elena and Caroline, were shocked at my new appearance.

Rose stood proudly behind me as everyone gaped at me. Stefan was the first to speak, his eyes glued to my legs. "Whoa, I didn't know you were that… whoa," He muttered and Elena gave him a non-too gentle shove in the ribs. He averted his gaze and waltzed off with Elena to get back to his drink.

Elena gave me a thumbs up before she left with her boyfriend though I could've sworn I saw her shoot me a jealous look.

Caroline rushed over to me, her jaw dropped down to the ground. "Damn, Bon," She cooed, as she took my hand.

"She looks good, right?" Rose's voice cut through the air and Caroline beamed.

"Amazing. I bet Tyler'll be sorry he's with Slutekah," She murmured before she called him over. "TY!"

Tyler apparently hadn't noticed my entrance but he stopped in my tracks. I felt annoyed as I remembered the whole Rebekah thing so I pouted and my eyes shot daggers at him.

"Bonnie looks amazing doesn't she?" Caroline put in and Tyler just stood there for a few seconds before he nodded and walked away uncomfortably.

Damon just looked speechless when he saw me. "You look…different, tiny," He tore his eyes from his legs to my face then a little lower before he smirked. "You didn't get a boob job, did you?"

"No," I growled angrily, folding my arms over my chest. "Could we find something else to talk about except for this stupid makeover Rose made me get?" I asked, turning to look at the stylist in question.

She rolled her eyes at me, before she looked at her watch. "I have to go, Bonnie. I have an appointment. Ciao," She called, before she turned on her heel and exited the hotel lounge room filled with people chatting, laughing and drinking.

I turned back to them and saw that Damon was still staring at me in this really weird way, so I stalked off to grab a much-needed drink and left them standing there gazing after me.

It was a horrible party. I mean, it wasn't bad in the party sense: there was good food, cool music and decent drinks but it was meant to be a party for us, and I didn't know a single person there aside from the band, Stevie and Alaric. And maybe Anna, our publicist was there too.

I kept trying to talk to Alaric about how sneaky and underhanded of him it had been to hire Rose without consulting me first and to discuss my supposed 'fashion disaster' behind my back but every time I stood by him and was about to open my mouth, I found him introducing me to people who I 'had to meet because they're very important. And you'd better be polite if you want to make it in the bizz,'

All the people who he assumed I had to meet made eyecontact with either my boobs or my legs and talked about how piracy was killing the record companies and how it was so hard to break America these days and that all those foreign bands were coming in and 'putting people under their spell's and bla bla bla and shit like that. At some stage, someone put a glass of something alcoholic in my hand and I sipped it because at least then, I didn't have to talk. I could just listen to whatever the douche bag who was talking to me was saying.

Waiters kept on filling up my drink and winking at me and I didn't realize how much I had to drink until the second one of the 'important people' walked off, Alaric turned to me and grabbed my from my shoulder, stabilizing me. I hadn't even noticed I was swaying. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I exclaimed, bubbly, "I love champagne. It's so soft and tasty and has all sorts of beautiful cute little bubbles in it,"

He smiled at me absently, not realizing how drunk I was. "Cool. Isn't that Caroline over there?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, it is," I looked more closely, "It's Caroline with her tongue shoved down the throat of Klaus from The Originals if you want to be more specific about the whole thing. Oh my," I giggled, "Elena's going to be pissed,"

Alaric ran a hand through his hair before he narrowed his hazel colored eyes at me suspiciously. "How buzzed are you?"

"The whole Caroline and Klaus thing…. Klaroline," Another giggle, "Is so weird… I mean… She always hated Klaus because of what he did to Elena and whatnot so it's so uber strange that she's now making out with him and she….what are you doing, Alaric?" I slurred.

Alaric had his hands firmly on my shoulders and was steering me away from Caroline and Klaus whom I wasn't aware I'd approached. My head was spinning by now. "God, Bonnie. You're so drunk," His voice was sharp; I'd never heard it like that before. "I want you to go and get a drink of water from your hotel room," He handed me a key card, "and stay up there until you're level headed and you can come down again,"

"But I want to stay and-,"

"NOW!" He shouted and the gentle push became a shove.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I didn't go and actually drink some water because I was still angry at Alaric because of the whole Rose thing and besides, I liked the way that champagne took the top layer of my senses and left me feeling numb and comfortable at that. Numb was good because I didn't have to think about any crap.

But the problem was, it meant that I wasn't that oriented and as I shoved some more champagne down my throat, I hit the side of the bar. Firm arms steadied me and I looked up to see Damon's cerulean eyes gazing down at me.

"Oh, it's you," Damon sounded displeased for some reason.

"And you…" I said brilliantly, "Hey Damon. How are you?" I looked at his outfit. "Did you get a stylist too cause that would explain your horrible sense of style?" I beamed, unbeknownst to the fact that I'd just seen him a couple of hours ago in the same outfit.

There was actually nothing wrong with Damon's blue, short sleeved shirt but it seemed petty to let a little thing like the truth get in the way of a potentially snarky comment.

Damon's lips curved and then his eyes drifted back down to my tank top and smirked.

I folded my arms across my chest once more, letting a champagne glass smash down to the ground. Damon picked it up in record time, sliding it onto the bar. I rolled my eyes, "Stop looking at my boobs, you damn pervert," I snapped, starting away from him.

Damon followed me. "How can I? You look so strange and unlike yourself… in a bad way, actually… I mean, are you sure you didn't get a boob job?"

I tried to punch him but with my whole drunk thing, my hand-to-eye coordination was kind of a problem. Damon grabbed my upper arms, keeping a firm grip on them as I lurched to one side, hardly able to control my movements.

"Shut up, asshole," I yelled as Damon studied my face more closely.

"How much make-up do you have on?" He murmured, "Don't tell me. Rose wanted you to send a message that said you're going to be a five dollar crack whore," I felt incredibly angry because of that comment and I wondered how much make-up Rose had put on me.

I tried to struggle out of Damon's grasp but Damon easily evaded my actions to break free and tutted and my behavior.

"I hate you," I huffed, feeling rather childish, "I hate you so freaking much. You suck,"

Damon looked somehow distracted by my mouth. I licked my lips involuntarily and could taste strawberry Lipsmackers on there.

"Yeah, hate you too, tiny," He said absently.

"No, I really hate you," I insisted, and I glared at him as he kept looking at me intently. "And… stop looking at me like that,"

Damon seemed amused by my comment and met my eyes with dangerous sapphire ones of his own. I noticed that a gray color also swirled around in his eyes and was spellbound for a second. "How am I looking at you, tiny?" He said lowly in a voice that made my nerves itch uncomfortably. I had to admit, it wasn't a bad feeling though.

"Like how you're looking at me now," I whispered back when Damon suddenly, for the second time, leaned forward and brushed my lips with his own.

My breath caught and I wanted to kiss him in that moment. He looked at me hesitantly and I leaned forward to press a kiss to his own lips, forgetting the world around us. Damon smiled against my lips and then swooped in, kissing me more hungrily. He was now holding me close to him as opposed to holding me upright. He teased my mouth with the tip of his tongue and I opened my mouth. He tasted like beer and chocolate.

My fingers fumbled and then curled into his hair and my back was against a wall and my hair tumbled down into my face and he pushed it furiously away and was cupping my cheeks with his hands ever so softly and-

"_What the hell are you two doing?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And I'm BACK! I'm done with school so I'm ready to update as often as I can all over again! YAAAY : ) **

**I know I've been neglecting this story but I love it so much and I love passion filled (love/hate) Bamon are in this and how REAL they are. I know something that you guys like is that they have flaws and this is how it should be because they're humans too! **

**REVIEW And tell me what you think. I'm a little rusty so this chapter may not be up to par but tell me. Good? Bad? I take constructive criticism. **

**I hope you guys aren't too mad about the hiatus! I have chapter 12 almost done so I'll be posting it soon! **

**Lily **

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or the plot lines I borrowed from Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 12**

Damon disengaged his mouth from mine long enough to murmur something I couldn't understand and then he was nibbling on my lower lip again while I looked up at him and wondered whether if it was his kisses or the dim lights of the lounge that were making me see stars in front of my eyes. Or maybe it was how much I'd had to drink.

Damon's warm body pressed against mine and I hugged him close until his body was suddenly wrenched away from mine. "Where-" I started then shut up when I saw Alaric looming over me like a thunder cloud. He looked really angry for some reason.

"What did I just tell you?" He demanded, sounding really irritated.

I shrugged. "I can't remember but I want Damon back. Where is he?" I asked, looking past Alaric to where Damon was standing with a dazed look in his eyes. He said something to Alaric that I couldn't make out then Alaric looked even angrier, like a pissed off thunderstorm. Then suddenly Damon wasn't there any more and Alaric looked furious as he marched me across the room and then out of it.

I noticed that he was leading me to the elevators and sighed. Once we were up on the right floor (I was too dizzy headed to register which one it was), Alaric asked me where the key card he gave me was.

I shook my head, "I don't remember. It was there…" I trailed off dumbly and Alaric growled and muttered something under his breath before he yanked another one out of his pocket. Spare key, I guessed.

He opened the door and led me inside and sat me down on a chair before he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of mineral water. He threw it at me and I opened it hesitantly and took a small sip. He stood over me until I took a sufficient amount of it. I kept on drinking and Alaric brought a chair over and sat in front of me, glaring at me as I drank.

I made it my mission then to drink as much as possible while Alaric just sat there glaring at me in this truculent manner. It was just weird. I put the bottle down when I thought I'd throw up if I took in any more.

Alaric just looked at me and I shot him a pointed look. "Isn't this when you tell me how disappointed you are in me?" I asked with more bravado than I possessed at the moment.

Alaric gazed at me coldly. "Yeah, but you missed out the bit where I'm angry as hell too," He responded.

I shivered because Alaric was making me incredibly uneasy, acting like my old principal at Mystic Falls High School when he was mad. I wringed my hands together uneasily, feeling like he was going to give me detention or a letter to send to my parents or some shit like that.

"What does this all mean to you?" He asked, after an uncomfortable silence.

"What does what mean to me?" I asked seriously. I wondered what he was going on about. I tilted my head to the side and studied his face.

Alaric's lips curved into a frown then he gestured with his hand. "Being in a band, being on the cover of magazines… being famous. The whole package,"

I wanted to say something amazingly eloquent and astute that would make Alaric stop in his tracks amazed at my words and realize that I was an icon in training. But I was just a seventeen year old girl who was exhausted from her flight, had had too much to drink and had been caught kissing someone she didn't really like. So I just pulled a face: "I dunno,"

Alaric scraped his chair forward so his face was mere inches from my own. I could feel the puffs of warm air against my face as he spoke and it made me feel beyond weird. "I don't think you realize how important this is. You're on the edge of something so fantastic and spectacular that it's going to change your life forever," He took my hand and squeezed it softly, running his fingers over the contours of my hand. "And I know how overwhelming and scary that might seem but that's why I'm here. My job is to take care of you, guide you because I know what's best for you. Will you let me do that?" He asked, and paused waiting for my answer.

I let my eyes look up into his hazel eyes and saw that there were tiny green specks in the sea of light brown. He was so close and I felt weird. I longed to see Damon that close to me, I thought to myself then I pushed that manic thought away, not knowing what had gotten into me. I gave my head a little nod as he looked at me expectantly.

"I get that, Ric, I really do. I just feel like I don't know, like I'm being taken over," I struggled to get the words out and try to make sense of everything. "It's all been going so fast and everyone keeps on telling me how awesome and brilliant and downright amazing I'm going to be but they keep expecting me to change and become someone I'm not. Understand?" I asked.

Alaric kept on looking at me queerly then he nodded. "Look, I don't want to change you, Babe. Nobody does. But the other part of my job is to help you realize your potential and understand how special of a girl you are," He added quickly.

"Dad says that you're only interested in my potential to make you a lot of money," I blurted out thinking back to an argument I'd had with my Dad a couple of days ago. Alaric's face clouded over and he tightened his grip on my wrist before he started stroking my hand rhythmically.

"You can't expect your parents to understand, Bon Bon," He said, in a tight voice. "They don't know who you really are…They still treat you like a child, I'll bet,"

I nodded my head in agreement. He'd gotten that right.

Alaric leaned forward to place his hands on my shoulders and we were nearly nose to nose. This contact was kind of freaking me out, to be honest, so I leaned back a little trying not to make it seem obvious how uncomfortable I was.

"You have to trust that I know what's best for you, Bonnie," He muttered, softly, "Will you do that for me? Will you really trust me?"

It was an unfair question because I didn't know what I felt. I wanted to shout at him because of the lyrics that he kept wanting me to change and make more 'mainstream' and because of freaking Rose and about me getting some respect to make my own decisions. Those were the things that seemed important to me. But then there were the expensive meals and all the money and new clothes and experiences and meeting new people and I felt really guilty about being ungrateful for them all. So I just nodded again to Alaric and he raised his eyebrows so I sighed and cleared my throat. "Yes, I'll trust you," I finally said.

Alaric tapped my shoulders softly. "Thanks. That means a lot to me because I'm going to tell you something and you're probably not going to like it," He started.

I felt fear grow in my stomach and felt like I was going to throw up. "What? Do you want me to pose for Victoria's Secret or something?" I asked, with a sick feeling.

Alaric laughed then. "Nothing like that," He was still chuckling, "I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Damon-"

I opened my mouth to deny everything but Alaric held his hand up to signal a time out. "No, I don't want to know but interband relationships don't work. Period. They'll screw you both up and the band too," He continued with conviction.

"It was just a kiss," I protested, thinking about the time he'd kissed me back at my house but I decided not to mention it. It didn't mean anything: it was just to shut me up. "It didn't mean anything at all…"

"Look I don't want or need to know the details," Alaric informed me briskly, "But what I do know is that couples in bands self destruct and drag their bands down with them,"

"But, I, y'knowww," I couldn't say a word to defend myself or disagree because kissing Damon once more had been strange and crazy and everything that was out of place but I'd liked it. And that was what scared me. I even wanted to kiss him more, no matter how insane that sounded. I was about to think of something in my defense when Alaric stood up and pushed his chair back to its place.

"Remember, you're going to trust me to do what's best for you?" He reiterated.

And I realized then that maybe he did know what was best for me. He saw me in a way nobody else did. He'd plucked me from obscurity (me and my friends, that is) and rescued us from my parents and boring university lectures.

"Right," I said, sharply, "You're right. I know you are…. Okay, no more kissing Damon," I giggled nervously.

Alaric shot me a brilliant smile. "That's a good girl," He said softly, "You should get some rest for tomorrow," He leaned forward and touched my cheek before he was out of the door.

I stood up and looked around the beautiful hotel room decked in beiges and coppers and beautiful crèmes and spotted a mirror by the door. I walked over to it and peered at my disheveled appearance and cursed Damon because my lipstick was smeared right across my face and I looked like a right idiot. I thought hard about the conversation I had with Alaric and sighed before I walked over to the bathroom to get a warm bath before I went to bed.

I left the bath to fill and threw in some bath salts that I found on the side and watched as it bubbled into the water. I threw off the outfit Rose had dressed me in and waited for the bath to fill up with water, feeling a headache pound in my head. I felt sick as I thought of my impending hangover. How lovely.

Once the bath was ready, I climbed in and spent a good half hour in there relaxing and putting on the Jacuzzi and styling my hair with an intricacy I'd never done before. But I felt slightly better when I was done.

I climbed out of the shower, wrapping myself in a soft yellow towel which was so comfortable, I thought I would die. I dried myself and walked over to my suitcase and pulled out some underwear and the oversized gray shirt I'd been wearing this morning and put them on before I walked over to the mirror and brushed my hair. I was glad the make-up had washed off; at least now, I looked naturally like myself. I was just pulling my hair into a ponytail when I heard frantic knocking at my door.

I sighed tiredly and walked over to it, wondering if I'd ever get any peace. I just wanted to climb into bed and fall asleep and maybe never wake up again. I opened the door and Elena was standing there, tears gushing down her face. I let her in, closing the door behind her. "What's going on?" I asked though inside I knew exactly what was wrong.

"Caroline…" She sobbed, "She's such a bitch…." More sobbing, "Klaus… She knew how I felt….I hate her…Oh Bonnie…" She collapsed into my arms and I hugged her and rubbed her back.

"She's not a bitch. She's your best friend and mine too. She just… She's probably drunk and could've kissed your dog if he was in front of her," I comforted, trying to alleviate some of her pain.

"No, she kept on telling him how handsome he was and I can't believe she'd stoop so low," She murmured, looking up at me with tear filled eyes.

"She probably didn't even know what she was saying, Lena. Don't worry about it. Besides, you have Stefan…why do you care about Klaus anyway?" I asked her, a little annoyed. I was tired and I wanted to go to bed. My head was pounding and I felt like I just wanted to collapse under the covers and let darkness take me.

"He was my first love. And I know I told you I didn't care… but it hurt me when I saw Caroline and him…I thought that exes were off limits and everything…" She trailed off, gruffly. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her dress and I sighed.

"They are supposed to be but sometimes, things happen. Are you saying that if what Caroline and Klaus had was true love, like yours and Stefan's, you wouldn't let them be? Care's a great person and she deserves every happiness, right?" I asked, defending Caroline.

Elena sighed, "Yes… she does… but it'd hurt still…" She trailed off.

"If Caroline and Klaus were to happen per se then keep reminding yourself that she's happy like you are. That's all that matters anyway,"

"But he might hurt her like he hurt me," She protested, "I'm just protecting her,"

"No," I said firmly, "You're protecting you. Sure, he may have been a jerk to you but Klaus was a player and players just need the right girl to tame their heart," I spoke from my heart and Elena looked at me angrily.

"Why are you defending her?"

"Elena, I'm tired. And I'm just speaking the facts," I muttered.

She glared at me and I sighed.

"You need to get to bed. Go to your room and take a warm bath then go to sleep. We've had a tiring day," I murmured, already walking over to my bed.

"But I don't-"

"Elena, I have a splitting headache and I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep last night because I found out that my boyfriend, now ex, was dating another girl and Alaric got me a stylist because he thinks my fashion style sucks and I'm drunk as hell so can you please leave me alone to get some rest?" I demanded, fury seeping into my voice. I felt out of breath by the time I was done talking.

Elena looked downright shocked at my outburst. Then she nodded. "Fine," She said, defeated and she started to make her way out of the door.

She paused when she was halfway there. "Bonnie?"

"Yes Elena?" I said, sleepily, as I climbed under the covers.

"I'm sorry about being a bitch. I'm just tired," She excused herself looking up at me with sorry chocolate colored eyes.

"Me too," I sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

She nodded, "Goodnight," She called, before she closed the door behind me and I heard the lock click into place.

I leaned into my pillow and flicked the light off, feeling the darkness wash over me. I wondered if Caroline really did like Klaus. He was such a jerk back in Mystic Falls but if I'd learned anything from the whole Damon thing was that even though he was a jerk, he could be sweet too. I knew it was slutty of Caroline to kiss Klaus when he was Elena's ex and all but sometimes things happened and there was nothing we could do to change what did.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At about 5 in the morning, I heard knocking on the door. I yanked my broken body out of bed and walked to the door, wondering who the hell it was who would call on me so early. I was shocked when I found Tyler there looking tired and with red eyes, a beer bottle in his hand.

"What the heck happened to you?" I asked, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

Tyler dropped the beer bottle with a crash and came in. I closed the door behind him and led him to the living room. He sat down on the couch, looking depressed. "Rebekah's a slut," He muttered, angrily.

"Why?" I asked, wearily, my head still pounding from last night. I'd woken up a couple of times to throw up and after taking a few pills, I was able to keep the vomit at bay. Thankfully. "What happened?" I didn't know whether to feel psyched and self-righteous or sorry for my friend.

"She made out with 10 guys last night at the party, none of them who were me," He told me, gruffly. "Then when I asked her about it, she told me that she never said we were exclusive even though I just assumed that we were," His normally lit-up dark brown eyes were dim, the life from them gone.

"Oh Ty," I groaned, coming over to give him a small hug. He hugged me back tightly, resting his head on my shoulder. I could smell the saltiness of his tears as they fell gently from his eyes. "I don't know what to say,"

"Don't say I told you so," He pleaded, irritably, as he pulled back and sniffed, trying to regain as much dignity as he could.

I giggled, "Never," I murmured, touching my hand to his cheek and wiping a saline tear away as gently as I could.

Tyler looked away then, "I feel terrible now. About you and me and everything. I was a jerk, I'll admit. I don't know what came over me," He muttered.

"Rebekah's gorgeous, I'll give you that," I responded, realizing that I was still sitting on his knee but I didn't move.

"Yes, but we've been best friends forever. The four of us. Me, you, Care and Elena and I can't believe I let that slut come between us. I should've known something like this would happen," Tyler admitted, sorrowfully.

"Yeah, I was pretty pissed off when I found out about Tebekah especially because I thought we were like together or something," I replied, honestly.

"We were but we never acted like a couple. I'm sorry for going out with Rebekah behind your back. We were best friends if nothing else and I should've consulted you first. And when crap happened tonight, I came to you because it was the most natural thing ever. I knew you'd be there for me, Bon, because you always have been. I was stupid to let you go," He told me, his brown eyes shining a little as he gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ears.

I sighed, "I don't know how I feel about us but one thing's for sure, you're my homeboy, Ty, and I'll be your shoulder to cry on until you die," I responded.

Tyler chuckled, "That rhymed, Bon," And I laughed when I realized it too.

"Yeah, I'm really tired though and we had a long day so I think I'll head to bed," I admitted, getting up off of his knee, a big smile on my face. I was glad that everything was cool between Tyler and me again. It seemed so natural to be friends.

Tyler nodded then paused. "Can I… stay here? I don't feel like going to my own room and wallowing in my loneliness," He muttered.

I nodded without hesitation. "Sure, it'll be like old times." I replied, happily.

Tyler smiled and then ran over to me, picking me up on his shoulders. He swung me around and then gave me a big hug, sighing blissfully. "I knew I could depend on you, Bon; I'm never going to make the mistake of taking you for granted ever again,"

"You'd better not…" I trailed off, cheekily, and Tyler tipped me backwards making me squeal and then yawn.

"Next stop, Bonnie's bed," He said in a deep voice like a train conductor's. He then whisked me into the bedroom and dumped me down onto the bed. I snuggled under the covers and Tyler yanked his jacket off before he paused.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Are you sure you can handle me?" I shot back, naughtily, sticking my tongue out.

Tyler rolled his eyes and then climbed into bed beside me. I snuggled up to him like I always used to and placed my head on his shoulder.

"G'night Bon," He called sleepily, as he wrapped his muscled arm around me.

"Night Tyler," I responded, and in our blissful little cocoon, I fell asleep in exactly 5 seconds.

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V**

Damon hadn't been able to stop thinking of him and Bonnie's fervent kiss all night. He woke up at 8 o'clock, knowing he had to confront her about it. He'd never felt this way about kissing someone. It was like the time he'd kissed her at her house so long ago. Kissing Bonnie was so different to kissing any other person. She was so sweet and innocent yet passionate and bold at the same time.

He climbed out of his bed and quickly got dressed in some jeans and a black t-shirt before he put on his sneakers, brushed his teeth and hurried towards Bonnie's room. He'd memorized her room number ever since she'd accidently slipped her room key into his pocket when they were kissing at the party.

He pushed the key into the lock, wondering if he should knock or not. Deciding to act like the Southern gentleman he'd been raised to be, he pounded on the door a couple of times and after he got no reply, he came to the conclusion that she was asleep. He didn't know if he should wait for her to wake up or go wake her up.

He decided to just get a little peek of her sleeping because he wanted to see how angel-like she could look. Feeling a lot like stalkerish Edward Cullen from Twilight, he pushed the key into the door and walked silently into the darkened room. He noticed that the door to the bedroom was ajar, so he slid towards it stealthily. He peered inside and his heart stopped at what he saw.

Sure, Bonnie was huddled up on her bed, her hair cutely splayed around her and her face like a sleeping seraph but she was sleeping on Tyler Lockwood's chest and he had his arms around her. He felt a searing jealousy wreck through his body. He just stood there, frozen and uncomfortable, until Bonnie shifted and murmured something in her sleep and he knew he had to leave.

He exited her room and stood outside of the door to Room 232, a blank expression on his face. He thought that Bonnie and Tyler had broken up and he was dating Rebekah, Klaus's sister. Then if that was the case, why was Tyler in her room? He couldn't remember much from the party after Bonnie left: his mind had been clouded by her kiss but he could recall Tyler dancing with Rebekah so he didn't get what happened.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and half expected to see Bonnie there but instead he saw his brother, Stefan, standing there in faded jeans and a white polo shirt. "What are you doing in front of Bonnie's room?" Stefan raised his eyebrows and creased his forehead like he always did when he was perplexed.

"I was just heading down to breakfast actually," Damon fibbed quickly, slyly sneaking Bonnie's key into his back pocket out of anyone's view.

Stefan nodded though he looked suspicious. "I was heading down there too. Elena's still asleep though and I don't know about the rest," He informed his brother as they started towards the elevator together.

"Bonnie's asleep," Damon said suddenly, "Or I assume…she is," He added, quickly.

"Hmm," Stefan commented, "Well, we'll get a headstart. The early bird catches the worm, huh?"

"Totally," Damon responded, as they headed down to the restaurant. He couldn't erase the image of Bonnie in Tyler's arms from his mind. It bothered him a lot and he couldn't decipher why that was so.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I decided to put a little bit of 3****rd**** person so you guys could see what's going on with Damon and all. I hoped you liked that and all that happened with Tonnie, and the Bonnie/Elena moments and stuff.**

**I don't know who to pair Caroline with. I was gonna go for Klaus but I'm not sure how that'll work out for her and Elena's friendship so yeah.. **

**REVIEW and tell me how you feel! I'll try to update soon : )**

**Lily**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Nope, not me! :'( **


	14. Chapter 13

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 13**

Ty and I headed down for breakfast feeling refreshed and happy after our long sleep. I was glad I'd patched things up with Tyler because before the whole Rebekah thing, Tyler and I had been best friends and we shouldn't have let a girl come between us. I had a slight headache and a sore throat from the alcohol I'd consumed but aside from that, I was in a good mood.

Damon and Stefan were already in the breakfast room/buffet area, mugs of black coffee placed in front of them. I didn't know where Caroline or Elena was but I seriously wanted to know if Caroline was conscious that she'd made out with Klaus, Elena's Klaus, at the party last night. I didn't really want to face Damon after kissing him and acting like a drunken fool but I knew we had to act civil. We walked over to them and I pasted a bright smile on my face. "Good morning, Salvatores," I greeted, placing my purse onto an empty place.

"Morning Bonnie," Stefan responded kindly, shooting me a genuine smile. I smiled back at him and looked over to Damon.

Damon nodded at me, then shot me a smirk, "Are you actually going to sit down or are you going to stand there all day?" He demanded with a bite to his tone of voice.

"We'll go get food and come sit down," Tyler spoke for me and I nodded and followed him over to the breakfast buffet area, rolling my eyes at Damon's previous comment.

I picked out a bowl of cereal, some fried eggs and a couple of cheese finger sandwiches before I made myself some black coffee and walked back to the table, gesturing to Tyler that I'd be over there. I noticed that Caroline had joined the Salvatore's at the table with a cup of what looked like tea with milk which was surprising because the Caroline Forbes that I knew hated tea.

"Bonnie," She greeted, shooting me a brief smile. She had sunglasses on probably from her hangover. She looked very much like a prima donna.

I smiled back at her and sat down onto my chair, "Hi Caroline," I responded, before I sank back in my chair and took a deep sip of black coffee.

"You guys will never guess who I made out with at the party," Caroline exclaimed, a few seconds later, looking around at us. Stefan, Damon, Tyler and I stared back at her expressionlessly then I spoke up.

"Yeah, I saw you," I muttered, "Klaus. I can't believe you'd do that to Elena, Care,"

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "So Little Miss Perfect is mad because I kissed her ex-boyfriend who she claims she didn't even love?" She demanded, irritably, as she took a giant sip of her tea.

"He was her ex-boyfriend, Caroline. I thought exes were off limits," I told her, just as Tyler joined the table with his tray of food.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking between Caroline who had a giant scowl on her face and me as I sipped my coffee gingerly. He slipped onto the chair next to mine, and grabbed his orange juice. Caroline slipped her glasses off, obviously sick of them already.

"About the party, you know. Some things happened," I shot Caroline a meaningful look which she batted off with a roll of her eyes.

Tyler glared at the table, "Yeah, shit things happened. Rebekah is such a slut," He muttered, sounding distressed as he probably remembered seeing her make out with whoever she did.

"She's hot though." Damon commented, and I felt a surge of annoyance rise through me. Jealousy. For some weird reason. "Right, Stef?"

Stefan shrugged, "Kinda, I guess," He admitted, as he bit on some toast.

"The hot ones are always sluts," Tyler put in, a few seconds later.

"So what did you guys get up to at the party?" Caroline skillfully changed the subject, looking curiously around the table.

"We didn't get up to anything," Damon snapped at the same time that I looked away from her. He met my eyes for a brief second and I flushed.

Caroline studied our faces curiously. She rolled her eyes at Damon, "No need to be touchy," She responded to him, sounding hurt.

"I for one don't remember much about last night at the party," I spoke with a long gulp of coffee. I shot Damon a look before I went on, "I usually make a fool of myself when I'm drunk, doing out of character, stupid, idiotic things,"

Damon scowled at me before he scraped his chair back and hurried out of the restaurant without so much as a 'goodbye'. The others looked after him questioningly and Caroline scowled.

"He can be such a jerk sometimes," Caroline put in, thoughtfully, sipping her tea.

"He means well; he has a good heart," Stefan spoke up defending his brother.

"Since when do you drink tea, Caroline?" I asked, confused, as I watched her, changing the subject from Damon whom I was uncomfortable talking about especially after last night's kiss.

"Yeah, we've known you since kindergarten and you've always hated tea," Tyler put in, chewing some food.

Caroline sighed and placed her tea on the table. "Klaus dared me to try it when I made fun of it. He was drinking some yesterday at the party before we got drunk…and I liked it," She admitted.

Tyler and I shared inquiring looks before she shot us a glare: "What?"She snapped at both of us, looking aggravated.

"It's just that Elena used to date him," Tyler put in, "I think she might be upset if you start dating him," He shot her a significant look and she sighed.

"I like him, okay?" Caroline responded, looking a little sad. "I had fun with him last night, even before I made out with him,"

"It was just a drunk one night stand though. It can't go anywhere because of Elena, right Care?" I asked her, running a hand through my hair and shooting her a questioning look.

Caroline shot us both annoyed looks, getting up and relinquishing her tea on the table. "You guys don't understand what I mean or what love is," She muttered, "You're both Team Elena anyway," She responded, before she stomped off, slamming the door of the buffet area behind her.

"I think I'll go see how Elena's doing," Stefan spoke up, a second later, before he too, retreated.

Tyler and I stared at each-other, "What just happened?" Tyler asked me, as he took a bite of his food.

I shrugged, "I honestly don't know, Ty," I replied.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Later that morning, Alaric gathered us all in his room to tell us the plan for the shows we were going to do and our schedule for the next week or so. "Tonight and tomorrow night, you guys have 2 shows at a couple of little clubs in the West Side of New York then after tomorrow, you get a break to do whatever you want, then after that, you have a big bash at SoHo Square and for the couple of days after that, I have a surprise for you all," His hazel eyes twinkled happily.

"What?" Caroline exclaimed, sounding pumped. She seemed to have forgotten her annoyance because of the Klaus dilemma. Or maybe she was just brushing it off and acting extra perky to hide her irritation.

"Well, you guys know Emily Bee?" He asked, looking at each one of our faces, as if to measure our reactions to his news. We were seated on the floor in a circle while he sat on the bed, looking down at us.

"She's my idol!" I put in quickly, smiling as I thought of the posters of Emily Bee on my wall and how much I loved her albums, and Alaric shot me a warm smile.

"Good, well you'll be opening for her at her concerts, starting Saturday for a couple of shows and you might even get to meet her," He announced, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"Wow!" I told Tyler, "I've always wanted to open for someone and meet Emily. This is such a dream"

"This is a really big break," Elena agreed enthusiastically from my right.

"It sure is. So you'd better get some rehearsing in today before your shows tonight," Alaric advised, "There's also a couple of photoshoots and interviews that we'll need to do over the next couple of days. Right now, we need to shoot some shots for the cover of your upcoming album 'Off The Edge', so we'll need you to get dressed and then we'll head off to the Purple Hat's studio to get the shoot done," He got up, "I have some things to do so I'll come to pick you up in the limo in about an hour, okay?"

We all sat there in uncomfortable silence before Elena shot Caroline a contemptuous look and then looked over at us, "I'm leaving then," She responded, sharply before she exited the room. Stefan got up and followed her, shooting us apologetic looks.

"Me too," Damon said, scornfully, and one by one the members of Into the Dark began to leave the room. I caught Caroline's hand as she was leaving and shot her a small smile because I didn't want to fight with her.

"I'm sorry that we weren't supportive of you and Klaus but you have to know that Elena's upset about the whole thing," I told her. "She came to me in tears claiming you'd betrayed her,"

Caroline sighed, her blue eyes troubled. "I thought it over and maybe you guys are right, maybe I should just give Klaus up because my friendship with Elena is more important than that. We were supposed to have a date with him later today before the show or after but I guess I'll just call it off," She looked incredibly sad about that.

"I think what you need to do is go talk to Elena and then decide what to do about the date." I put in, feeling sorry for her, realizing that she really liked him. I put a hand on her shoulder and she looked sadly back at me.

"But she hates me," She protested. "Did you see the way she looked at me? I've never seen sweet little Elena do that whole evil eyes thing…."She trailed off.

"She does not hate you, Caroline. We've been best friends since forever. You guys just need to talk. Speaking of which, I have to talk to Damon too," I muttered, looking around the room to check it was empty which it was. The others, even Tyler, had left to get ready for the photoshoot.

"Why?" She looked curious, cerulean eyes focused on mine. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No," I lied then sighed, "Yes…. Kinda…. I kissed him yesterday at the party while I was drunk," I admitted, hoping she wouldn't judge me. Then again, she was Caroline Forbes; she didn't exactly do judging. She was a ray of sunshine.

Caroline's jaw dropped and then a smile graced her lips. "And how do you feel about it?" She asked, looking surprised.

"Um, I liked it…. And I felt something different than what I used to feel when I was kissing Tyler before. With Damon, there was passion, sweetness, danger…" I trailed off, blushing.

Caroline 'awww'ed and then smiled, "I for one think you and Damon are right for each-other, way more right than you and Tyler ever were," She admitted, shooting me a look of approval.

"You do? Because Alaric told us to avoid interband relationships and all that,"

"Alaric's a creep and remember this, we're the stars not him. We can find another record label if we have to. Live your life, Bonnie. Chase Damon if you want to; you'll regret it later if you don't… especially if he gets together with someone else which he eventually will because he's a hottie," She advised, a sparkle in her eyes.

I took what she said into consideration, "And you need to go talk to Elena and explain how much Klaus means to you if you're so sure about him though I have to say I'm a bit confused… didn't you hate the guy before?" I pressed for details and Caroline got a dreamy look on her face.

"Yeah…. But before I got so incredibly drunk, we talked and it was epic. Like, he was way different with me than how he acted with Elena. You know what they say about opposites attracting… I just really think he's sweet," She trailed off happily.

"Then you have to convince Elena because it sounds like you may be the girl to change Klaus," I advised her honestly and Care nodded.

"And you go work things out with Damon. Follow your heart, Bonnie," She urged.

"I will," I murmured and as I thought of Damon, I got little butterflies in my stomach.

I shot Caroline one last encouraging look before I marched out of the room determinedly and in the direction of Damon's room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I knocked on Damon's door, my nerves going wild. I was incredibly nervous but I'd sort of come to a decision. I was going to give Damon a chance and screw whatever Alaric thought because Caroline was right about me maybe regretting it later with Damon. All the signs were there that I liked him: I was jealous when he kissed someone else and talked about Rebekah being hot, when we kissed it was amazing and I couldn't stop thinking about him. Sure, he was annoying but he could be sweet too. Sure, he was sometimes a jerk but I knew some girls who considered him a hero because his mother raised a gentleman. No matter what happened, he'd always do the right thing even though he may want to appear a rebel.

Damon came to the door, a confused look on his face as he saw it was me. He was already dressed in some dark jeans and a 'Rolling Stones' top and had his hands dug deep into his pockets. He looked at me, studying my face for a few seconds before he scowled, "what do you want?" He demanded.

"I want to say a lot of things. But first and foremost, I want to apologize for what I said at breakfast about the crazy and reckless things I do when I'm drunk. Not all of them were stupid," I admitted, shooting him a momentous look.

He let me in, "I don't know what you mean," He muttered, closing the door. "And if you're talking about the kiss, then I don't care if you think it's stupid because I thought it was too,"

"It may have been stupid," I told him, following him into the little living room area in his room. "But it was pretty darn amazing, if you know what I mean," I turned to look at him and saw him looking at me with an amused look.

"You think so?" He asked, coming closer to me.

"Yes, I think so," I responded, puffing my chest out. "What did you think?" I asked, a sick feeling in my stomach because if he still thought it was stupid then this would be so embarrassing.

"I thought it was good but not perfect, tiny," Damon admitted, shooting me a little self confident smirk.

"Why so?" I asked.

"Because you know, you don't have much experience in the whole kissing department," He said nonchalantly.

"Oh really," I challenged before I reached forward and pushed my lips to his, kissing him as passionately as I could before I stepped back. Damon looked flushed and his expression was shocked. "What did you think of that?"

He touched his lips, "That was better," He finally said, but he still looked a little dazed.

"Hmm," I murmured, reaching forward to touch his cheek for a second before I stepped back.

"What are you doing here, tiny? I mean, really?" He asked, "Did you come to mess with my head because you accomplished that,"

"I'm not here to mess with your head but I wanted to…" I trailed off, "I like you, Damon, and despite what Alaric said-,"

"What did he say?" Damon scowled.

"He told me that there should be nothing between me and you because we could destroy the band and that relationships between band members wreck everything and crap like that,"

"There are exceptions," Damon put in, watching me speak with a strange look in his eyes.

"Yes, I know. I agreed with him but I've decided now that like… there's something special between us and there are a lot of Alaric's in the world but there's only one Damon Salvatore," I admitted.

"And only one Bonnie Bennett," He reached forward to caress my cheeks and then ran his hands through my hair, gently brushing a stray strand out of my eyes. "I like you too, Bonnie," He told me, "I think I've actually liked you for a while now,"

"Is that so?" I teased. "Why didn't you say something?"

"You were with Tyler and yesterday, he came and slept next to you and I felt so jealous and-,"

"Were you checking up on me, Damon Salvatore?" I asked, a smile tugging at my lips.

Damon looked away, embarrassed. "I might have been," He finally said.

"Hmm," I muttered, "How did you get in….oh, my key! I must have dropped it at the party and you picked it up," A smile played at my lips because Damon cared enough to come see how I was doing.

"Yea," Damon muttered, "Well, you can have it if you want…" He trailed off, a little bashfully.

"Nah, Alaric gave me a spare one. Keep it with you just in case," I suggested.

Damon nodded then slipped it into his pocket once more. He reached for me and gently traced a shape on my cheek. "You're so beautiful. That's the first thing I thought when I saw you," He admitted. "With your bright emerald colored eyes, perfect caramel skin and silky smooth chocolate colored locks, you easily had me under your spell,"

"You were such a jerk back then," I murmured, "You sometimes still are,"

"Yes, this whole thing," He gestured to us, "I think we should keep it on the DL until we secure the record company because Alaric can still ditch us if he finds out,"

"Like we should see each other secretly?" I asked, feeling a thrill at that idea.

"Yes," Damon looked excited too, "And we should act totally normally in public, especially in front of Alaric,"

"I agree," I responded, "Just until we secure the record deal and we get famous enough to maybe find another manager,"

"Good idea," Damon trailed his hand down to my neck and onto my shoulder before he squeezed it gently. His radiant turquoise eyes stared into mine and I felt myself getting lost in them, no matter how clichéd that might sound. I placed my hand to his cheek and then slowly, as if both of us decided to at exactly the same time, our lips closed the space in a gentle, tender kiss that was so sweet, it made my insides gush.

Damon brushed another strand of my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear and was just about to place a kiss to my cheek when someone knocked at the door and we sprang apart as Stefan burst into the room.

"Are you guys ready?" He shot us both a suspicious look.

I looked down at the gray shirt and jeans shorts I'd put on this morning for breakfast, "Yes," I responded, hoping my voice sounded normal and that my cheeks weren't flushed.

"What about you?" He asked Damon who just stared at him for a second before he nodded.

"What does it look like?" He said, a snarky tone to his voice that reminded me of the normal Damon. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

Stefan rolled his eyes, "The limo's downstairs and everyone's waiting for you guys. Alaric's pissed," He warned us, as we followed him out of the room.

"Screw Alaric," Damon muttered, between clenched teeth and his left hand found mine quickly, squeezed it and let go. His sapphire eyes met mine for a second and I smiled.

"Screw Alaric," Stefan repeated, apparently mocking Damon, "He's the guy who gave us the record deal if you haven't forgotten," We walked over to the elevator and I pressed the button to the Ground level.

"You're right," Damon said, submissively, "He's the one who really made us famous,"

Stefan nodded in approval as the 'ting' sounded in the elevator and we exited it and started out of the lobby and into the warm New York summer weather. Alaric's black limo was waiting outside and he was standing outside of it, tapping his feet impatiently.

Stefan slid silently into the limo and we were about to follow him when Alaric stopped us. "Where have you two been? Why are you late" His tone was angry.

"We were going over some lyric changes in my room," Damon lied automatically and I nodded.

"Yeah, some things had to be changed," I responded, playing along with Damon's story.

Alaric locked us with his hazel gaze, looking still wary. "I see," He commented, "Well, get in the car already. We're going to be late,"

"Fine," I said and Damon didn't reply as we slid into the limo next to our friends.

Elena and Caroline were chatting amicably so I guessed that meant that they'd worked things out which was good. I'd have to ask Caroline later what happened between them.

Alaric got into the front and he fixed me and Damon with a firm look before he sat back in his seat and started talking on the phone to someone from Purple Hat Records.

I sat next to Tyler who shot me a confused look. "Where were you?" He mouthed.

"Me and Damon were going over lyrics," I lied, because I didn't know what I was going to tell my friends about me and Damon. I didn't know if I could. Maybe just Tyler and Caroline. But later.

Tyler shrugged and nodded before he grabbed his iPod and handed me an earpiece. I plugged it in and he blasted the music up. I felt Damon's hand on my bare knee and I shot him a tiny smile. Damon smiled back at me before he removed his hand and looked out of the window at the sights of New York, New York.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm not very pleased with this but it was a crucial chapter for Bamon. I don't know why, I just feel it's not as good as the rest! : )**

**I wanted to thank the reviewers for the last chapter:**

**Prettylittlevamp09, Lula6791, Crystal1998, DamonBonnie Salvatore, jewelsstars and xoxArtemisSalvatoreBennettxox. I wasn't able to reply to you guys personally but nothing can describe the gratitude I feel towards you for encouraging this story! **

**Thanks to all of you who read and please REVIEW telling me what you think of this! I'm not sure if I'm going in the right direction so yeah : )**

**Lily xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. : '( **


	15. Chapter 14

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 14**

About half an hour later, we were led into a big empty room in the studio with tons of camera equipment and a set. "Well, Rose and Trevor are going to help you get in the appropriate clothes for the photoshoot and then we'll choose the perfect photograph for your album picture," Alaric explained, as soon as we were settled in the room. I assumed that Trevor was the stylist for the rest of the band and wondered once more why I needed to have my own stylist. Was it because I was the lead singer? Or was it because, according to Alaric, my clothing taste sucked?

"What's going to happen to the rest of the pictures?" I asked, a few seconds later.

"Well, Teen Vogue requested them if they're 'hot' enough for their new edition," Alaric said and excited murmurs emerged from my friends especially Caroline who was addicted to fashion magazines.

"That sounds like a plan," Damon, who was sitting on my right, put in when none of us spoke.

Alaric nodded, still looking a little wary because of our lateness in getting to the limo. "Yes, it is. Well I'll be downstairs, helping with other technical stuff in your album. Rose and Trevor will be here soon," His eyes strayed to every single one of us before they locked on mine. I started back at him awkwardly, trying not to fidget before I shot him a sly grin, if anything to get him to stop looking at me.

Alaric grinned back, "Well, I'll be leaving now," He said, before he exited the room, leaving us sitting there alone.

"What now?" I asked, standing up and facing my band mates.

Caroline was about to open her mouth to speak when Trevor and Rose rushed into the room. Trevor was a guy who looked about Rose's age with gray eyes and disheveled chocolate brown hair. He shot us a cheerful smile, "Good morning guys. If Stefan, Damon and Tyler could come with me…. Rose will help you girls," He gestured to me, Caroline and Elena. I felt glad that I wouldn't be left alone with Rose.

Damon shot me a secret smile before he followed Tyler and Stefan out of the room. Trevor nodded at us before he left the room to go get the boys ready for the shoot.

"Well, let's not waste any time. Come on, girls," Rose said, her voice crisp and her accent clear in her voice. Her long brown hair was tied back in a French twist and her blue eyes glittered excitedly as she led us out of the room. We entered a room close by that was absolutely overflowing with clothes. A couple of outfits were picked out to the side. Rose shut the door behind us and grinned. "This is going to be so much fun,"

Caroline and Elena looked excited but I just rolled my eyes. "Bonnie first because Alaric will need her out for some preliminary shots because she's the lead singer," Rose put in, reaching forward and tugging my arm.

I sighed but allowed her to drag me towards my outfit which was a pair of extremely tight looking gray vinyl pants and a tiny gray and white belly top with a smoky gray tank top under it. I had to admit, I didn't hate the outfit too much.

"Do you want me to help you into them or can you deal?" Rose asked, picking up the clothes in her hands.

"I can deal," I said, because I didn't like the idea of someone else dressing me.

Rose nodded and tossed me the outfit. There was a curtain set up on one side of the room so I crept behind it and slipped my clothes off before I put the outfit on: first the pants which I had to tug and squirm and suck my stomach in before they fit and then the tank and the little top over it. I stepped out and Caroline 'ooohed' and 'aaahed'. I posed, feeling very playful.

"What do you think?" I asked, shooting them a cheerful smile and putting my hands on my hips.

"Gorgeous," Caroline said and Elena smiled:

"You look so pretty, Bon. I have to admit, I like this better than your regular stuff," She added.

Rose handed me some killer looking white heels that gave me about four extra inches. I was about to protest and she shook her head:

"You need heels. These are sexy Milano Blanik's so you shouldn't complain," She spoke, a warning look on her face. "They'll make you look cool," She promised before she handed them to me and walked over to Caroline. "You next," She gestured to her, handing her a tiny white mini dress with sparkly bronze straps and some bronze sandals.

Caroline gushed over the dress before she hurried behind the curtain to get dressed. I'd put the shoes on by then. Standing up in them, I could just feel they were a death trap.

I shakily took a few steps, my back hurting already. "Do I really have to wear these, Rose?" I asked her.

"Yes, now sit down so I can get your hair and make-up done," She urged, and I noticed there was a fancy looking dresser in the side of the room with all sorts of hair products and appliances in addition to all the cosmetics in the world. I followed her over there, trying not to break my neck, knowing that protesting wouldn't help.

I sat down and closed my eyes, waiting for Rose to work her magic.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A while later, Rose nudged me. "I'm done," She said, and I peeled my eyes open to look at myself. And I couldn't recognize the girl in the mirror in front of me.

My usually soft wavy hair fell in tight curls down my back and was held back on both sides with bobby pins. My eyes looked even bigger than usual lathered with tons of mascara and some shimmering gray eyeliner that added to the wideness of my eyes. My cheeks glimmered with some kind of fairy dust and the only part of my face that was done simply were my lips which were simply coated with a clear gloss. All in all, I looked incredible and I couldn't believe I was staring at myself in the mirror.

Rose seemed to sense that I was speechless, "Wow, huh?" She laughed, looking happy at my reaction.

"Yeah, wow indeed," I responded, standing up and walking over to the full length mirror. If I was someone back home looking at the CD cover, I wouldn't know it was me: Bonnie Bennett. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Oh and wait, your trademark bow," She announced, bringing out some tiny silver bow earrings that she placed on my ears, moving some strands of hair to cover one side of them.

I sighed and I could see the appreciative gazes of Caroline and Elena who were now dressed and ready for make-up. Elena was dressed in a tiny black top that had 'Trouble' written on it in messy gray writing, a little gray miniskirt and some black boots. We all looked pretty good and I was sure that the girls would look stunning after they had their hair and make-up done.

"You can go now, Bonnie. Ric called a while ago saying he needs you out there," Rose told me.

I nodded and steadily exited the room, working hard to keep my balance. I walked over to the other room we were in and saw that it was now bustling with camera crew. The only boy out here so far was Damon and his jaw dropped down to the ground when he saw me. I scanned the room for Alaric but saw he was a no-show so I hurried over to Damon, almost tripping over my own feet.

Damon steadied me, still looking spellbound. "You look…. Wow," He replied, and I realized I'd heard the word 'Wow' a lot since I'd gotten dressed. And I'd even said it.

I blushed, "Thanks. You look awesome too," I told him, checking out his own outfit which was composed of some white skinny jeans and a gray shirt. I realized that he was dressed in the opposite of my clothes. "We're dressed in opposites,"

"Yeah, and opposites attract," Damon murmured, leaning close to me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and hugged me close to him. The gesture seemed way more intimate than I'd thought it would be. He then subsequently spun me out suddenly and I saw Alaric entering the room.

"Okay," He was saying, before he saw the pair of us. He smirked as he saw my little getup. "You look exquisite, Bonnie. Damon, rocking the white skinny jeans," He added, but his eyes remained focused on mine making me feel uneasy. I was starting to think that Alaric was a bit of a creep.

"Thanks," We responded at the same time before we chuckled.

"Well, get over there," He gestured to the cameras, "I just wanted to make sure you were dressed and appropriately just. I'm going to head back to the studio downstairs but I'll be up in a while to make sure everything's going okay,"

"Cool," Damon responded, and I nodded before we walked towards the cameras.

It seemed like an African American man with the nametag 'Harper', who looked only a couple of years older than us, was in charge. "Good afternoon," He said to both of us. "I take it you're Bonnie," He gestured to me and then to Damon, "And you're Damon,"

I nodded, "Bonnie's my name, don't wear it out," I laughed and Harper chuckled. Damon didn't look very impressed about our interactions but he faked a smile as well.

"Let's get to work then," He put in, as Harper smiled at me some more.

He nodded, "Yes, we should. We need some shots of Bonnie alone first and then we'll get some of you two together," He ordered and then a female assistant of his with strawberry blonde hair and a pretty smile led me over to the center of the set. They'd set up some sort of black and sparkly set behind us that looked a little like a starry night .It did fit in with the theme of 'Into the Dark'.

I watched as Damon perched on a beanbag on the side, his eyes locked mysteriously on mine. I shot him a small smile before the girl started to tell me how to pose.

"Okay, you need to look mysterious first so look down as if you're hiding a secret," The blonde told me. I noticed her nametag read 'Heather'.

I did as she said and she nodded, moving forward to push a few strands of hair into my eyes. She ran back, "Hold that pose," She said and Harper snapped a few shots of me.

"Okay, now sit down on the ground and look upwards. Try to look sultry," Heather suggested and I did as she said, putting on my most indifferent yet sneaky look. I saw the cameras flash and guessed I was doing okay.

"Let's have some freestyle," Harper called and I nodded and sat up, putting my hands under my chin and smirking in my most Damon like way. I decided to have a little fun with things and shot them a playful grin before I tossed my hair back and feigned boredom. All the while the cameras flashed and I realized with an ecstatic feeling how much I liked the cameras and being in front of them. I'd never considered modeling but this was very fun.

Harper was laughing by the time I was done. "You're a natural," He called from behind the cameras. "Let's have Damon in for a couple of shots," He ordered and Damon hurried over to me.

"Okay, we need some hot pictures to show the chemistry of the band," Heather said, before she led Damon over to me and pulled me up so I was standing. "Put your hand on her shoulder and shoot her a seductive look. Bonnie, you look back at him as if you're flirting too,"

She hopped out of the picture and Damon did as she said and so did I. The cameras flashed and I couldn't help but smile a little at Damon's expression. "That's enough, killer," I teased and Damon smirked back at me.

"You're the killer. Those other shots were hot, Bennett," Damon was leaning closer now, whispering in my ear and the camera was still flashing.

"I like it! Keep going," Harper called and I'd forgotten we were still taking pictures. Apparently so had Damon. He brought his hand to my cheek and stroked my hair and I pushed him away in a façade of playing hard to get. I saw the cameras flash once more and Damon pulled my arm back, the expression on his face as if begging me to stay.

I laughed, leaning closer to him and bringing my lips close to his cheek yet I didn't let them touch. Damon growled and pulled me towards him, kissing me passionately. The cameras flashed and I flushed, pulling back.

"Okay, that's enough for now. Let's get the rest of the band in there," Harper called out and I noticed that Elena, Caroline, Stefan and Tyler were standing on the side, watching. Caroline winked at me while Elena looked amused. Stefan looked indifferent while Tyler had an uncomfortable look on his face. I was glad Alaric wasn't there. He was probably still doing whatever with our album downstairs in the studio.

Heather hurried over, smirking at me and Damon. She clapped me on the back, "Good work," She complimented before she winked at Damon. I realized Damon was still holding me by the waist and shot him a secret smile before I stepped back. Damon's eyes were still locked on mine. "Okay, let's try this. Bonnie in the center and Damon and you," She gestured to Tyler, "on each side of her…" She trailed off as we followed her orders, "Then Elena right?" She gestured to Elena who nodded, "You stand beside Damon and put you," She pointed at Stefan "on her other side," She watched as we all got into position and then she focused on Caroline who was left. "Okay, you go next to him." She pointed at Tyler and Caroline did as she said.

She stepped back, "Now, I want Bonnie to put one arm around you," She gestured to Tyler, "And Damon, pull her from the waist slightly, focusing your eyes on her," She told the rest of them to get into position and then Harper took a few shots.

"That's good," Harper called, "How about you mix it up a little? People from Teen Vogue saw the shots of Bonnie and Damon and demand more shots of the two and of Bonnie and the other boys for their next edition. They might even give them a cover,"

I gasped because even I, who wasn't fashion obsessed, knew that Vogue was huge and especially just for a rising band. We'd be propelled into the land of Stardom. I shared a look with Damon and he smiled back at me.

Heather looked extremely pleased, "Okay, clear the canvas," she closed her eyes as if picturing something, "Bonnie, I want you in the middle," She pushed me rather roughly to the center but I didn't mind because Hello? TEEN VOGUE magazine wanted us. That had to mean Damon and my shots were good at least. "Um and I want all you guys around her, You and you," She pointed at Stefan and Tyler, "grab her arms and Damon stand behind her and wrap your arms around her waist,"

We all got into position and I felt very much like a slut as I stood there with Damon, Stefan and Tyler around me. I felt rather flushed at all the contact and especially because of how intimate the scene was, especially with Damon's close proximity.

"Bonnie, look devious," Heather ordered and I put on my most cheeky yet sly look. "Boys, look like you want her," I couldn't see their faces but I guessed we were looking okay because Heather gave us a thumbs up and ran back.

Harper snapped a few shots and was about to snap some more when Alaric walked into the room, looking irritated. "What's going on here?" He demanded, looking at the four of us.

"Teen Vogue wants more shots of the band," Harper said, stepping out from behind the camera.

"Well, that's enough. You do have enough photos by now, don't you?" Alaric asked, smiling plastically at Harper and then at Heather. He had this weird look on his face.

Harper nodded, "We just need a couple more of the girls," He motioned to Caroline and Elena.

We inched out of our positions and Alaric nodded, "Fine. Then the guys can go get dressed," He gestured with his eyes to the door and Stefan and Tyler nodded and started walking out of the door. Damon mouthed 'freak' behind Alaric's back causing me to giggle and then followed the rest of them out.

"What's so funny, Bonnie?" Alaric shot me a sweet look.

"Nothing. I just remembered a joke someone told me," I lied, articulately, before I walked over to Elena and Caroline and left Alaric standing there, gazing after me.

"Okay, girls, get in a circle, holding hands and look down," Heather ordered, and Harper came over with the portable camera and sat in the middle of us, looking up. "Now, smile,"

I shot them my best smile, with a hint of cheekiness and I could see that Elena was smiling sweetly while Caroline was full-out beaming at the camera. When we were done with this shot, Heather told us to look over our shoulders and have no expression at all on our faces.

By the time we were done taking all of the shots, I was pooped. I'd underestimated a models job. I just thought they posed a little then spent some time on the catwalk but all this posing and taking photographs was draining. We got dressed back into our regular clothes and then started towards the limo.

Cameras flashed as we exited the building and I shielded my eyes, smiling a couple of times for the cameras but I was sick of photographs being taken. Reporters screamed our names, asking all sorts of questions ranging from "Our readers want to know: Pepsi or Coca Cola?" to "Can you confirm or deny the rumors that you're dating Klaus Mikaelson" (the last question was directed towards a very smug looking Caroline who replied with "No comment".

By the time we got into the limo, I was beyond exhausted. I collapsed into the back next to Damon and Tyler, resting my head on Ty's shoulder so Alaric wouldn't be suspicious of anything. The last thing I remember before going to sleep is Alaric's hazel eyes scrutinizing me with an intensity that chilled me to the bone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, so that was chapter 14! I was astounded by the reviews for the last chapter! Whoa, THANKS guys : ) Y'all are all awesome. True story.**

**So is anyone else getting a little psycho Alaric vibe or is it just me lol? I didn't intend for that to happen but there's a little plot bunny regarding him and being a complete freak that won't go away so I'll just have to see about that. **

**Well, I'm going away for a week on holiday so this might be the last chapter for about a week but I WILL try to get one last update in, just for you guys! **

**Next chapter: More Bamon, more music and more Into the Dark! **

**Leave some love for Bonnie and Damon! REVIEW :D **

**Lily **

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own TVD. **


	16. Chapter 15

**Into the Dark**

**Chapter 15**

I woke up in my hotel room, lying under the covers peacefully. I sat up in bed, wondering what time it was. It couldn't be too late because we had a concert at a little club in the West Side of New York later tonight. I got up off of bed and grabbed my purse, pulling out my cell phone to see what time it was. 8:45 PM. I remembered Alaric saying that the concert was at about 10 so I was good. I put my cell phone back and almost got a heart attack when I noticed someone standing right in front of me.

I was going to scream when I noticed it was Damon standing there with gleaming sky blue eyes and a shit eating grin on his face. I smacked his arm, "Don't scare me like that, you dork," I warned, shooting him a glare.

Damon smiled at me, "You think I'm a dork, tiny?" He asked, with a mock-hurt expression on his face. "You wounded me in here," He pointed at his heart and I chuckled slightly.

"Then let me heal you up here," I reached forward to place a warm, lingering kiss on his waiting lips. Damon kissed me back, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to his temperate, solid body. It felt so good being there in his embrace. I never wanted him to let go.

"You were killing me at the photo shoot earlier," Damon told me, pulling back and caressing my cheek gently. His nose almost touched mine and I could feel his tepid breath in my face.

"And you were too. You looked smoking hot," I complimented, keeping my eyes straight on his as I leaned forward and kissed his neck, trailing kisses down it.

Damon shivered at the contact, "And you were I-want-to-rip-your-clothes-off sexy," He responded, in a voice that sent pleasant chills down my spine.

I felt my cheeks warm and I looked up at him with a seductive look, the same one I'd harbored in the photo shoot. I tipped my head sideways and watched him staring at me, entranced. I had this boy under my spell and the funny thing was, I was under his spell too.

"Don't look at me that way or so help me," Damon muttered ,his blue eyes shimmering with passion.

"What will you do, Mr. Salvatore?" I took a few steps back until my back was leaning against the bed and Damon grabbed me roughly and placed a passion-filled kiss on my mouth before he placed a kiss to my shoulder. I closed my eyes, breathing in and out, wondering if I'd ever felt this good or right before.

He pushed me down onto the bed and kept on kissing me, wounding his hands in my hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled his shirt off, kissing me skillfully at the same time. "You really turn me on," Damon whispered, and I trailed my hand down his chest. I could feel his sculpted abs under my fingers and I couldn't believe he was mine. All mine.

"You do too," My voice was a breathy whisper. He was about to gently ease my shirt off when there was a prompt knock on the door. We just stared at each other, frozen. Then Damon groaned and pulled back.

"Go see who it is. I'll be waiting for you," He said, sitting down onto the bed.

I nodded, shooting him an excited smile before I walked towards the door, wondering who had interrupted our make out session. "Hello?" I called, opening the door and coming face to face with Alaric who shot me a bright smile.

"Hi Bonnie," He studied my appearance, "You look tousled… what's going on?" He tried to look past me into the suite but I blocked him, looking down at my clothes and swearing mentally. My t-shirt was askew and I was sure my hair was a mess too.

"Nothing. I just woke up actually. I was having a pretty interesting dream," I lied and Alaric leaned towards me, his hazel eyes speculating.

"What kind of a dream?" He asked, almost in a flirting way but then again, he was Alaric. Why would he be flirting with me? Come on.

"A nightmare," I told him, feeling a blush come to my cheeks for no reason at all.

Alaric studied my face for a second, "I see. And are you ready for the little show tonight?" He asked me, reaching forward to brush a strand of my hair away from my face.

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a bath and then come downstairs. Can you ask Caroline to bring me some food? I'm kind of hungry," I told Alaric, honestly, as I tried to close the door.

"Caroline's out for her date. She's going to meet us at the venue. But I'll surely bring you some food. Have a nice bath," He told me, a slightly weird look on his face.

I smiled, "Thank you. And I'll try," I ran a hand through my hair, "I'll see you in a while then?" I asked Alaric.

"Yes, later. I'm going to go check on the others. If you see Damon, tell me because it seems he's missing," Alaric sang, in a way that almost made me feel he knew that Damon was here. But that was impossible. Wasn't it?

"Sure, I will. But why would I see Damon? We both hate each-other," I fibbed, tipping my head to one side.

"I don't know, Bon. You tell me if you see him though," He said, before he reached forward and brushed my cheek affectionately. "Hasta La Vista,"

"Later," I said, slamming the door quickly and walking back into the room. Damon was already pulling on his shirt; he'd obviously heard the part about Alaric going to check up on him.

"That was close," I told Damon, helping him pull down his shirt before I wrapped my arms around him.

"Yes," Damon whispered into my ear, "But this has a certain charm to it, don't you think?"

I shivered at his proximity and nodded, "It's dangerous and fun…" I admitted, in a low voice.

I stepped back, "Well, I have to go take a bath," I told him.

"Do you want me to come help?" Damon wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively and I rolled my eyes and decided to tease him a bit.

"Maybe later," I said, slowly pulling off my shirt like a stripper so I was just standing in my simple purple bra. Damon's eyes were glued to my chest almost immediately.

"You're killing me," Damon groaned, as he put his shoes on and straightened up. "I might just stick around,"

"You're such a boy," I told him, smirking, "And Alaric would just about kill you,"

I fingered my shorts and Damon sighed, "I don't care if you're going to finish the rest of that strip show. It'll be worth it. I'll die happy," He said, shooting me a wistful look.

"Nice try, lover boy," I smirked at him, "Alaric's going to have your head put on a plate. Leave,"

Damon sighed, "I'll be back for you later," He said, resolutely and I nodded.

"Sure," I said, "Now go quickly. Pretend you were somewhere else," I told him.

Damon nodded and leaned in to place a fervent kiss to my lips before he exited the suite, leaving me alone. I closed the door behind him and hurried into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar, to take a calming bath. I stripped off my clothes and climbed into the bath, filling it with bubbles before I lathered apricot smelling shampoo into my hair.

I was just sinking under the water singing One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful, _"Baby, you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed and when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell, you don't know-o-ow. You don't know you're beautiful,"_ I thought about Damon the whole time through. I heard the wind blowing in the hotel room and some clicks and the door creaking but I ignored it. I rinsed my body and then climbed out of the bath, feeling completely at ease. I stood by the sink, easing body cream onto my body just in case I got some action with Damon later. I smiled at that thought and continued smoothing it into my skin, feeling totally relaxed. I heard more door-creaking and then the slam of a door nearby so I wrapped myself into a towel and then hurried out of the bathroom to look in the room but there was nothing there.

I was feeling beyond freaked as I looked around trying to notice something, anything different, but I couldn't see anything. Just as I was about to turn to my wardrobe to pick out some clothes, I found a little black device on the floor beside the door. I rushed forward and picked it up, and found that it was a digital camera. But whose camera was it?

I clicked the lock of the door shut because by now I was kind of nervous and a little scared. This camera's existence in my room meant that somebody had been in there. I couldn't remember if I locked the door or not before I went to take a bath but made a pact to always lock it from now on.

I dumped the camera onto the bed and dried my body before I picked out some clean underwear and a little black Versace dress that I felt was appropriate for tonight's show. I picked out some red fishnet leggings to add to my rocker chick look then blow dried my hair so it was straight. I applied make-up and was adjusting the strand on my dress with something hit me. What exactly was someone doing in my room with a camera?

I finished applying some red lip gloss and made sure my hair looked good before I rushed over to the camera. I dried it because there were still some of my damp fingerprints on it from my bath and then opened the archive. I cried out in alarm as I checked the pictures that were saved on it. There were only 7 pictures saved on the cameras memory card. But that wasn't the terrifyingly freaky part. The strange part was that all 7 of the pictures were nude pictures. Of me. In the bath and then standing outside of it when I was done applying cream to my body.

A shiver crept down my spine as the camera slid from my hands onto the floor. I stood up, wanting to get as far away from this room as possible. I briskly deleted the pictures and then shoved the camera under the bed and grabbed my purse, grabbing the room key. I hurried out of the room, locking the room behind me before I started downstairs, almost running into Alaric who had a tray of food in his hands. I was beyond freaked out. Who would sneak into my room and take those pictures? Anyone could have if I'd truly left the door unlocked but why would anyone do that? How would anyone know I was there?

I thought it could be Damon, playing around with me so I decided to ask him. It was still a little freaky for him to do that and an invasion of privacy but it was less scary than the other option: that some psycho was mooching around the hotel and into my suite.

"What's wrong, Bonnie?" He asked, when he saw my alarmed expression.

I shook my head, deciding not to disclose anything to Alaric because it was way too embarrassing. I'd ask Damon first at least because if it was him then I'd be a little annoyed but a whole lot relieved that it wasn't some random stranger. "I'm just a little nervous about the show tonight," I lied, realizing that I'd been doing nothing but lying to Alaric since I came here.

"Oh but don't. You'll be amazing as usual, Bon. Have confidence," Alaric's eyes twinkled and I nodded.

"I'll try," I muttered, eying the tray of food. I felt nauseas now and I wanted to catch Damon before we left so I wouldn't have time to eat. "I'm not very hungry. I'm sorry that you went through all this trouble," I gestured to the tray. "Maybe I'll just have a slice of pizza," I snatched it and hurried past him.

"Where are you going?" Alaric asked, "We're leaving in 5 minutes,"

"Okay, I just need to ask Elena something," I lied because I didn't want him to be suspicious about the whole Damon thing.

Alaric nodded, "We'll meet you guys in the lobby then," He turned back, going in the direction he came, probably back to the restaurant to return the food.

I took a bite of pizza, feeling sick to my stomach with nerves and made a detour in the direction of Damon's room. I knocked on the door and Stefan came to it, already dressed for the show. He had a hairbrush in his hand and he pulled it through his hair.

"Bonnie," He greeted, shooting me a confused look. "Is it time to leave already?"

I blew off his question, "Isn't this Damon's room?" I asked him.

"Yes, but Damon's taking a shower in my room because apparently his room doesn't have any hot water," He explained to me with a roll of his green eyes.

"So he's in the shower?" I asked, "When did he start this shower?" I asked, trying to fit the time frame for the sneaking into my room.

"Just a few minutes ago," Stefan told me, looking perplexed at the worry in my voice. "Is everything okay, Bonnie?" He asked.

I nodded, "Everything's just peachy," I said, trying to steady my voice because I was freaking scared.

"You sure?" He asked, as I started backing out of the room.

"Yes," I told him, "Well, I'll meet you guys downstairs. Tell Damon to come down too,"

It was hopeless trying to talk to Damon now. By the time he was done with his shower, we'd have to leave. I felt sick to my stomach but decided to push those thoughts away. I wondered whether to confide in Elena or Tyler about the weird break in but Tyler would probably freak out and alert security and I didn't want that big a deal made of things and I didn't know if I trusted Elena enough. Sure, we'd been friends for a long time but she had a big mouth and a tendency to blurt things out. I didn't want the whole of Mystic Falls knowing about this. I guess I'd just have to wait until Caroline got back or when I could talk to Damon.

I hurried down to the lobby and I spotted Alaric in the bar, placing a shot to his lips. I ignored him, taking a seat on a couch and finishing off my pizza. I decided I was thirsty and ordered a diet Pepsi from the bar, loving how icy cold it was under my fingers. I sipped it and was about to hurry back to my seat when someone nudged me.

I turned to find Alaric gesturing for me to come. I approached him warily, taking a big sip of Pepsi. "Are we leaving now? I was just getting a drink," I told him.

"Why don't you sit down with me, Bonnie?" He asked, a lazy smile stretching across his lips as he downed another shot.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that much?" I asked, as I perched onto the barstool next to his.

Alaric waved me off, "My body can hold the alcohol. And to answer your previous question,:" He looked at his watch, "The limo's probably outside but we'll wait for the others here," He paused, "Are you sure you're okay? You look… out of it,"

I shrugged, taking another sip of Pepsi. "I'm fine. I'm a little homesick to be honest," I didn't know where I came up with these lies. "I miss my Mom and Dad and all that,"

"You'll see them soon," Alaric assured me, bringing his hand to brush my shoulder comfortingly. I felt rather uneasy but I just let him because I didn't want to make a big deal out of things. "Sooner than you think, Bon,"

"Yes, I know. It's just so crazy sometimes," I muttered, and that wasn't a lie for once.

"Showbiz is crazy," Alaric said, hazel eyes sparkling, "But like I said before, you're going to be a star, a big…big star," more caressing of my shoulder. I tried not to flinch away from him even though every instinct in my body told me to do so.

I was about to respond when the others trudged into the lobby together. Stefan and Elena in the front, looking all loved up while Tyler and Damon trailed behind them. I hopped up off the stool and out of Alaric's reach, downing the rest of my Pepsi before I threw the can in a nearby waste bin.

"Ready to go?" Alaric asked, jumping up from the stool himself after paying for his drinks.

We all nodded and I started towards the entrance, Damon close behind me. His hand brushed my back and I turned back and smiled weakly at him, making sure that Alaric was ahead of us which he was. Tyler shot me a confused look and I just sighed, deciding not to say a thing to either of them. I walked faster to catch up with Stefan and Elena who were engaged in a conversation.

"And then there was this E! story about how the Mikaelson brothers are the hottest bachelors ever except that Klaus is taken," Elena ended, a slight smile to her lips.

"When did you see that story?" I asked, engaging in any small talk.

"A while ago. I wanted you to come and watch but when I knocked on your door, it was locked," She said, her brown eyes welcoming and slightly disappointed.

"When was that exactly?" I asked, feeling a chill go down my spine because maybe I could figure out what the heck happened when I was in the bath.

"I think it was about 30 minutes ago," Elena said, "I can't be sure though,"

That was the time I was in the bath. So apparently someone had come in, locked the door behind them, taken the pictures and then snuck out again? It was all so confusing and so freaky at the same time.

"Is everything okay?" She added, studying my face as we approached the limo. I noticed that the others had climbed in and she was the only one still standing outside with me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her, "Just a bit homesick," I fed her the same lie I'd fed Alaric a while ago and Elena reached forward and hugged me.

"I understand. I miss my Aunt Jenna and my brother Jeremy too," She told me, embracing me.

Alaric poked his head out of the limo, "Are you coming or are you going to relive every episode of One Tree Hill?" He asked, smirking.

"We're coming," Elena called, and I pulled out of her hug, sighing. Maybe I could trust her after all. I'd have to think about it when we got back from the show.

We slid into the limo, Elena perching next to Damon who already had Tyler and Stefan on his other side. I sat down next to Elena and almost a second after the car had started moving, my cell phone buzzed. I picked it up and saw it was a message from Damon.

I hid my phone from Elena but I needn't have bothered; she was reaching beyond Damon who was looking at me expectantly to whisper something to Stefan.

_What's going on? Stefan said you were looking for me – D. x _

I sighed and pressed the 'reply' button before I typed up a short reply:

_Nm. We have 2 talk l8ter tho. – B. _

I slid my phone into my bag before anyone could notice and watched Damon receive the message, trying not to seem too obvious about it.

His phone buzzed and he stared at it before he scrunched his eyebrows up and then shoved it back into his pocket, looking irritated. Great. He snuck me an inquisitive look but I just shook my head, turning the TV on in front of us.

Ironically enough, it was turned onto E! News and there was a news piece on Kol Mikaelson, the only Mikaelson brother I'd never met. Apparently, Klaus had an older brother too called Finn but he was away in college.

"He's hot," I told Elena, gesturing to Kol who was pictured at a movie premiere in an all black outfit.

Elena grinned, "Not you too, falling under the Mikaelson spell," She sang dramatically and I could see Damon scowl from beside her and stare at the ground in front of him and I knew I had to sort this thing out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I feel a little creeped out! Who else does? Anyhow, YAY me 2 updates in one day! I just felt a little generous and I AM going away for a week so I thought I might as well post another now : )**

**I hope you liked that. Thank you thank you to those who reviewed on the last chapter (I hope you did!) and please leave a REVIEW telling me what you think! I want your opinions on this one : ) **

**I don't own TVD. **

**Lily xx**


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